


R&R (Rebound & Revenge)

by brightmoonprincess, phazonprincess



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, F/F, Fade to Black, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Revenge, Romantic Tension, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 58,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25041235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightmoonprincess/pseuds/brightmoonprincess, https://archiveofourown.org/users/phazonprincess/pseuds/phazonprincess
Summary: The school semester is in full swing! The year converges on summer's hottest days, and Catra was just dumped to the curb. Glimmer, daughter of the university president who has always despised Catra, has decided to double down on help to catch her up with school, but also provide her emotional support, disagreeing with Adora's side of the breakup. While it is out of love for her friend, there are some selfish reasons as well that incite quite the series of events...(tldr: glimmer and catra are petty and make questionable decisions)
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Angella & Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra/Glimmer (She-Ra), Past Adora/Catra
Comments: 69
Kudos: 209





	1. Friday

**Author's Note:**

> hey! brightmoonprincess and I have teamed up to write some slow burn Glitra in a modern setting!!! enjoy!

**_Scorpia [6:14pm]  
_ ** _Don’t stress about it, wildcat!  
_ _I give it two weeks until you’re back together! :D_

 **_Catra [6:16pm]  
_ ** _..didnt you read what i just said? i dont WANT to get back together  
_ _im over dating ok?  
_ _i hate everyone  
_ _..wow, that sounded way too edgy  
_ _but fr_

 **_Scorpia [6:17pm]  
_ ** _I don’t mean this in a rude way, but… you said that last time you two almost broke up, right?_

 **_Catra [6:29pm]  
_ ** _:/  
_ _i have hw to finish  
_ _bye_

Catra went back to scrolling through social media on her phone, which she had been doing all day. Er, quite literally, all day. She ended up skipping all of her classes and spent the rest of the day in bed instead. Part of her hated the fact that something as dumb and childish as a breakup was affecting her so much. She hated that Adora has that much power over her. Which, she supposed, was part of the problem...

Ugh. She killed that train of thought and flicked her finger to watch the next video in her feed. At this point, it had been about seven hours. She miiiight have been developing carpal tunnel syndrome, and it miiiiight not be the healthiest coping mechanism-- but hey. Those kitten videos are too addicting for their own good, and there’s an endless supply of them.

An apology from Scorpia appeared at the top of the screen. She opened it up and read it, but honestly? The overly apologetic attitude annoyed her even more. Unjustly, she knew. But the pity pissed her off. She decided to ignore it for now.

She’s finally broken away from the kitten videos, but she ended up in an even worse place. She scrolled through her own profile, glancing over the pictures of her and Adora together. Her heart clenched, and she selected one. 

It’s from last summer; they’re feeding each other ice cream, all crop tops and goofy smiles. Catra’s finger hovered over the delete button. Would it be petty to delete all of the pictures of them together? Yes. Would it be cathartic? Probably.

The confirmation screen popped up with an _“Are you sure?”_

Catra groaned and shut her screen off, only to be hit with another notification. She expected another frowny face from Scorpia, but instead, it’s a notification for a liked post. Some dumb, sarastic meme she reposted earlier. She stared at the name for a moment. Well, if there’s anyone who won’t look at her with pity...

It took her at least ten minutes to decide what to send. Something casual. Something that does not say “hello, I’m desperate for someone to talk to.” Something completely off topic.

—

It felt like Fridays never ended for Glimmer, still not used to how packed they were even after several weeks of the new semester. While her Mondays were short and a great way to ease into the week, the rest of her schedule was a crescendo of stress that led into every weekend. It made it hard to make plans or do anything because she'd be so tired the following morning. Regardless, the day was finally over, thank god. 

As was customary, she stumbled into her dorm room, tossing her bag in whatever direction towards her bed and falling haphazardly down against it. Usually Adora was here already, but on Fridays she had volleyball and didn't get back until late. She groaned as she let out a big stretch now that she could finally relax after a tiring day, eventually succumbing to the allure of her phone, pretty much the only thing that kept her sane throughout her classes. She reached for the plug to charge the near-death device and scrolled aimlessly through social media for what seemed like seconds, but lasted for well over 20 minutes until she was shot a text, one she didn’t know she was waiting for.

 **_Catra [6:40pm]  
_ ** _hey sparkles, do you have the notes for calc last week?_

 **_Glimmer [6:41pm]  
_ ** _i was wondering when you'd tap me for those lol  
_ > calc04notes.pdf  
 _you can't just keep skipping girl!_

While the days were grueling, the silver lining was that she got to spend time with her friends. Obviously she shared a dorm with Adora, so her evenings were a least lively, but the most classes she shared amongst their friends was actually Catra. They went to the same high school, but weren't really friends back then like she was with Bow and Adora. Actually, it was pretty intense how much they didn't like each other at the time, but now that they're adults and Glimmer's mother is incessantly trying to enact 'proper' behaviors on her, Glimmer admired Catra's grit now more than ever, no matter how she perceived her in their youth.

Obviously, she knew all about the breakup. Adora practically never shut up about it if there was any semblance of a bad mood from her. Catra seemed unfazed by it in comparison, but with how much she'd been avoiding class—especially those she shared with Adora—it was obvious that she was having a rough go at it. It was tough being friends with both of them, obviously wanting to comfort both but not seem like she was taking sides. That said, given what Adora's shared so far, Glimmer... honestly feels worse for Catra than she does for Adora. It wasn't much, but she wanted to say something about it without being too dramatic.

****

—

**_Glimmer [6:43pm]  
_ ** _I know shit kinda sucks right now tho, hope you're doin ok!_

Honestly, Catra wasn’t sure whether or not Glimmer would take Adora’s side, out of sheer loyalty. A few years ago that would have been the case, but thankfully they grew past that. And Catra was grateful for it. It would really fucking suck to have to lose friends in like that.

 **_Catra [6:45pm]  
_ ** _yeah  
_ _im fine though, preciate it_

After she sent her reply, Catra went to check out one of Glimmer’s profiles. Her newest picture was a selfie with her and Bow, bright grins and a peace sign, with a silly pun in the caption. Catra cracked a smile—the first of the day that wasn’t kitten-induced.

She went back to their texts. Seeing that Glimmer hasn’t replied yet, Catra stared for a moment at the last text she sent, and she hesitated. She started typing _do you want to—_ nah. _are you up for—_ ugh. She didn’t know why she’s putting so much thought into this.

—

**_Catra [6:48pm]  
_ ** _you busy later?_

Glimmer watched the banners of her first messages pass by as she found herself locked on one of those stupid auto-play videos, determined to see it to completion. She knew that she could be spending her time more wisely, but she just had no energy to be productive of all things.

Huh? Was she reading that right? She assumed that Catra would be allergic to the idea of seeing anyone right now, given the state of things. She didn't have anything to do tonight, already resigning herself to the fate of letting whatever dumb sitcom she found take over before she crashed. It would be nice to see Catra after so many days of seeing her so sparsely. But how would she respond without sounding... mmm, too excited?

 **_Glimmer [6:50pm]  
_ ** _mmm, nope!_

Send.

... Okay, maybe she should ask instead of leaving it up to her, in case she had second thoughts. Yeah.

—

**_Glimmer [6:50pm]  
_ ** _want some company? :)_

If in person, the response would have made Catra flustered and defensive. Excuse me? Are you trying to say she’s lonely? No no no. Because that would sound pathetic. Luckily, none of that extra, useless emotion needs to be expressed through text. So Catra sent back a cool, casual:

 **_Catra [6:51pm]  
_ ** _just extremely bored  
_ _im in my room, head over and then we can do something?_

She, for obvious reasons, didn’t want to take the risk of going to Glimmer’s room, but surely she’d pick up on that hint. It was already awkward enough when she passed by Adora on campus and they wouldn't make eye contact with each other. Her room felt like the only safe spot. At the same time though, she was itching to get out.

Catra finally got out of bed and stretches her arms upwards, her ears twitching. She glanced over at her mirror, tilted against the wall amongst messy piles of clothes. Ok, she's looked better, but she was presentable, at least. But maybe she should put some pants on before Glimmer comes over.

 **_Glimmer [6:52pm]  
_ ** _sure! lucky you caught me before i took my bra off lol  
_ _you know how my fridays are >:(  
_ _see you in 5!_

—

Glimmer felt a little sweaty from her long walk back from campus, hauling all those books and her computer around with her all day. It would probably be wise to change into something a bit more comfortable. She didn't feel the need to look gorgeous or anything—it was Catra after all—but obviously didn't want to look careless. Glimmer swung herself up from the comfort of her bed, stretching herself out before her legs carried her off toward her dresser. She rustled through some options but ended up just deciding to change into a fresh pair of black pants and a purple drawstring hoodie. Nice enough—went with her new yellow shoes that she'd been eager to wear around.

Upon a quick look to her vanity, she put a brush through her hair to look nice before reaching for her keys and somewhat eagerly taking her exit to the hallway. She stuffed the keys in her hoodie pocket as she checked her messages again.

_Catra is typing..._

She looked at the clock in the corner of her screen. It had only been... 3 minutes. She propped herself against the wall to at least allow for that full five minutes, perhaps somewhat impatient of her as she put her other hand absently in her pocket awaiting her response.

—

Catra put down her phone after reading Glimmer's last message. It feels like more effort than normal to get herself put together, but she takes a deep breath and powers through it.

She put her hair in a ponytail, left the band tee on, and pulled on some leggings. Afterward deciding the room is objectively messy to an embarrassing degree, she made an attempt to clean the room up a bit. She threw away the empty chip bags that were on her desk, and she transferred the heaps of clothes on the floor to either the laundry hamper or her desk chair. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about Entrapta's side of the room, because who knows how much that girl would panic if her tech was misplaced. But hey, their shared messiness was what made them compatible roommates.

After a few minutes of getting her life together-- or room, the organizing lady on Netflix would argue it's the same thing-- Catra went back to her phone to see if Glimmer had sent anything else.

Oh. Whoops. She accidentally left some text in the message box without sending it.

—

_Finally_ Catra had sent whatever she was typing. 

**_Catra [6:58pm]  
_** _hey sorry was afk  
_ _still coming?_

… Typical of her to do that, it absolutely wasn't the first time she's left Glimmer gawking at her phone like that. Glimmer had eventually traipsed over to stand just outside her door as she waited for the message, chuckling to herself under her breath after reading it. Not wanting to completely impose her impatience, she waited for another thirty seconds (practically counting them down) before knocking on the door.

_Bang, bang, bang!_

Right after she knocked, she locked her screen to use the screen as a faux-mirror to check any oddities on her face just in case. To no avail, so now she waited, hands half in her pants' pockets. _Hmm, I wonder where she even wants to go? I'm pretty hungry_ , she thought in those few seconds, glad that she brought her keys in case they wanted to drive anywhere.

She was right on time, like expected. Catra opened her dorm door and gave a small wave.

"Hey—" Catra started to say, but her voice came out weirdly hoarse. Looking back at it, maybe that was the first time she had actually spoken out loud to anyone in a couple of days. Oops.

She coughed once, shaking it off. "Hey, Sparkles," she said, as easy going as always. She opened the door wider to let her come in, asking a simple, "How's it been going?"

Glimmer giggled in the seconds that Catra slipped up, her grin widening as she took her steps past her friend, articulating her answer.

 _"Eugh,_ I'm just glad I don't have to think for three days. Good though, just tired," she elaborated, assessing the chaos she was expecting to see. Her eyes wandered Entrapta's display of disorganized belongings before finding herself sitting down against the edge of Catra's bed. It was raised higher than her own, making it weirdly a chore to sit up on it. Too tired to propel her legs, she flickered in place leaving a bright lavender silhouette, jolting from her place a couple feet over to have her back against the wall. Much comfier.

Catra went to sit next on another corner of the bed, hugging her legs to her chest and curling her tail around them. The hairs on her arm stood up a bit in the aftermath of the magic, and she felt the warmth from it as it dissipated. She wasn’t sure if magic is something she'd ever get completely used to, but it was, admittedly, pretty cool.

"Your mom still givin’ you a hard time?" she asked. If she's being honest, it's partly a way to divert attention away from herself. "I saw the passive aggressive comment she put on one your pictures. _Lovely, but it would be even lovelier if you didn't have your tongue sticking out like that,"_ she recited, putting on a lousy accent to quote Glimmer's mom.

Glimmer's head flung back as thoughts of her mom rang following Catra's speech, smacking against the wall making quite the thud sound as the phone she was holding fell limp in her hands against her thighs.

 _"Fuuuck,_ I know, ugh," she grunted, recalling the three "😆" reactions some of her friends added to her mother's comment. "Like, just…! Ugh! I'm not just a pretty trophy daughter with honors that she can just show off anymore! So stupid," she concluded with disgust in her voice as she unlocked her phone again, the fingers of her other hand unwittingly circling against her temples.

Catra couldn't help but to let out a cackle of laughter when Glimmer's head thudded against the wall. "I can't relate, but it sounds like it sucks," she comments.

She uncurled from her position and leaned towards Glimmer, her palms resting her weight in front of her. "We could... egg her house?" Catra suggested, only half-jokingly, with a mischievous _I dare you to_ smile. 

It wouldn't be the first time Catra pissed off the university president, though she knew there were only so many strikes she could take. Maybe she'd already crossed that line, who knows? They'd been acquainted since Catra was in high school. She's never asked Glimmer about it, but Catra always sort of knew that her mom didn't approve of her in their friend group. Though, maybe she didn't ask because she didn't want to know.

The way Catra leaned in was so tantalizingly _cute_ , Glimmer thought. She felt so guilty to admit it to herself, but there was a part of Adora dumping her that made Glimmer so selfishly happy. There was always a part of her that was so enthralled by the way Catra carried herself, so... authentically _her_ , not afraid to be a little weird or stray from the conformalities. It was so enviable. Also it didn't help that she looked like _that_.

She took a deep breath, feeling a little flustered in the moment at how jarringly close the kitten's face was. Her mother hated Catra. Some days it would be all she talked about, was how troublesome she was and how much of a terrible influence she was. Meanwhile, Catra was one of the nicest, most honest folks she'd ever gotten to know. There was part of her that regretted feeling so insecure in high school, but I suppose that couldn't have been helped when you have her as your mom and no Dad to counteract the platitudes.

Sharply exhaling, Glimmer turned to Catra as if to kiss her purely out of spite to her mom, but hesitated before following through. It would be completely out of place, given her status with Adora, not wanting to cause trouble, but... she also did, thinking back to how selfish Adora was thinking, wanting to enact some form of revenge on her too. Fuuuck it.

Catra’s smug smirk had already faded away when Glimmer turned to face her. There was something… strangely determined and daring about the way she was staring at her. For a moment, Catra thought maybe she went too far with the mom talk? She knew it was a sensitive subject, but sheesh, she didn’t think it was enough to--

Glimmer’s hand reached for Catra's head as she shifted her body forward, grasping her by the ear to pull her in for a supple kiss on the lips, the adrenaline fully taking over as her phone slid off her against the sheets.

Catra let out a small grunt of surprise as she was pulled forward.

_Whoa whoa whoa WHOA._

_What?!_

It’s not often that Catra is rendered completely shocked. But this was definitely one of those times. Her eyes were still wide, her body tensed up at the surprise, her blood pumping manically through her veins. She tried to put together a coherent thought, but all that came through is the consciousness’s equivalent of _??????????_

I mean. Screw it, right? Catra’s muscles relaxed, and she leaned into the kiss, all while thinking _fuck it, fuck_ her _, fuck it all_. If you’re already in the deep end, might as well learn how to fucking swim, or something like that.

She moved her hands to Glimmer’s shoulders and shifted her weight onto them, pinning them against the wall. Her kiss was salty and bitter, but it was tender. It'd been a while since she’d kissed someone new, and she’d be lying if she said she never thought about what Glimmer’s lips would feel like. _C’mon, we all think about kissing our friends? Right? Uh, right?_ She got a feel for them, reveling in their softness.

Ugh. _Fuck_ , Glimmer thinks. The way Catra pushed herself into it, shoving her up against the wall as she felt those sharp nails graze her shoulders. The way she didn't hold back on sucking down on her lip, it felt so electric and so devilishly _right_.

Glimmer’s grip on Catra was tight against the back of her head, her fingers wrapped in her hair as she pulled her so aggressively against her, unable to stop herself from eliciting a gentle groan of indulgence. 

Eventually, all good things must end, and Catra bit down gently on Glimmer’s lower lip as she started to pull away. She let it go when she backed off enough, leaving Glimmer panting as her eyes felt somewhat awestruck by how... _whatever_ just happened made her feel, muttering a _'god'_ under her breath as she turned her eyes somewhat bashfully from the feline.

“So, uh…” Catra mumbled, “That... happened?”

Upon hearing Catra’s words, Glimmer could simply nod as she caught her breath, heart thumping like rabbit feet.

"F-fuck," she said, shaking her head as she realized what she did despite wanting it so bad. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have—I just, my mom! and fuckin'... Ado- my roommate!" she caught, not wanting to say her name in case it stung. _"Rrgh!"_ she stammered, a raspiness in her voice as she fuddled her speech, hands flying up to cover her bashful cheeks.

Catra’s chest clenched as Glimmer brings up Angella. Her heart squeezed out a numb feeling, and she felt it spreading throughout her body. Ah. Right. What was she thinking? Catra felt dumb for even entertaining the thought of someone else being into her. But at least she didn’t say any of that out loud. She caught Glimmer cutting off Adora's name, and she hated the fact that people still walk on eggshells around her. Okay, okay, maybe that’s fair, given her tendency for emotional outbursts. But it was still annoying.

“... It’s cool. I get it. It's been a long week. You don’t need to apologize,” Catra told her. It was nice, she almost added, but something stopped her. “And I don’t care about Adora, okay?! What I do is none of her business anymore.”

Although, for someone who was kissing her with personal motivations, Glimmer did seem _really_ into it… Though maybe that was part of the appeal? She never took Glimmer for the kinky type, but who knows.

She shrugged and moved to sit beside Glimmer, leaning back against the wall. “Not that I care, but if you’re _trying_ to use my body for stress relief, you could at _least_ buy me dinner or something,” Catra teased, playfully nudging Glimmer with her elbow.

Glimmer could feel herself regaining some semblance of composure, letting her head lean back against the walls as her eyes shut, finally breathing normally again. Catra unsurprisingly kept her cool with the way she spoke in response, a sense of security instilled in Glimmer as she reassured her. At least, that's what she perceived it as. The comment about Adora made her rethink her hesitation. It was Catra, after all. She liked things brutally honest, something she often forgot because all of her other friends were just _not_ like that. She simply shared a look of understanding, nodding gently to signal it.

She sharply inhaled and exhaled, one final release of adrenaline as she addressed the feelings running around in her head. _God_ that was good, and there was a part of her that was hungry for more, but her thoughts were interrupted as Catra followed up with her playful jab. Her contact forced a giggly smile out of her as she articulated her response.

"Pff! I was expecting to anyway—what are you hungry for?" she asked, shuffling her hand through her pockets to wrangle out her keys to gesture their departure. "Just... _not_ burritos again, please," she laughed, reminiscing the last two times her and Catra had lunch together getting such disappointing results from the local taqueria back to back.

“Thanks, Sparkles! You’re the best,” Catra said cheekily as she throws her arm around Glimmer’s shoulders for a tight squeeze.

Catra's embrace was quite welcome to Glimmer, both of them shoulder to shoulder as she felt Catra pull her tight to her side. So much so that she absolutely pushed against her to feel more. It was fruitless, of course, knowing that Catra wasn't interested in her like she was in Catra. Or was she, even? Was it just out of spite like she thought, or...? Whatever, there was an attraction of _some_ kind, but it didn't matter. The kiss was a fluke, Glimmer concluded.

There was a time when Catra recoiled at anyone the idea of touching people so casually-- except, well, her ex-- but after spending so much time with Glimmer, Scorpia, and all of their other physically affectionate friends, she found herself getting used to it. Maybe she even _enjoys_ it, sometimes, though she’d never ever admit it. She wondered if that’s part of the reason why their kiss felt so natural, how their lips fit together as if they had kissed a million times befor--

 _Nope. Nope nope nope. Stop that. It meant nothing, so stop thinking about it, Catra!_ she scolds herself. Why unpack emotions, when you can stuff yourself with food instead?

"Fine, fine," Catra agreed as she hops down from the bed. "They totally skimmed on the carne asada last time, anyways. Want to do pizza?"

"Oh, yes! I'd been wanting to try that new chain that opened up on Third—Za Pizza or something? It's like a Subway but... for pizza," she trailed off, slinking her legs down from the bed and adjusting her hoodie before taking steps toward the entryway, slipping her shoes on again.

“Sure, sounds good," Catra agreed, checking her phone notifications once more. Catra considered leaving her phone here. She’d been checking it obsessively for the past week, her heart racing in the worst way every time she got a text notification, part of her still hoping it ends up being Adora, finally reaching out to apologize. She hated that part of herself.

But she loses the mental battle and ends up grabbing her phone anyways, sliding her phone into the oh-so-convenient pocket in her leggings. 

"Also, aren't these things cute?!" Glimmer exclaimed, pointing a foot out for Catra to admire her new kicks as the feline moved to follow her. They were... pretty ordinary, but were a soft pastel yellow with a white stripe down the middle and teeny black stars against the ankle. Naturally, she had restringed them to look as ornate as possible.

 _“Ohmigod SO cute,”_ Catra mocked in an exaggerated, higher pitched voice, jokingly, mostly. “They look good on you, though.”

She headed out the door with Glimmer and closed it behind them, but left it unlocked. A very loud rumble emerged from her stomach.


	2. Pizza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following their flustered exchange in Catra's dorm, Glimmer is happy to treat her to pizza, where she can finally take the steps to get back at her mother.

The two of them bantered about random school crap as they made their way down the barren hallways and stairwells. It was a Friday evening on a sweltering summer weekend, so students were out on the town or taking trips outside of the college town to get some sun. Glimmer's parking spot wasn't exactly close to the dormitory, so they had to walk quite a ways until they finally got to her car.

She was always 'the driving friend,' her family wealthy enough to supply her with a car at sixteen. It was the same car she was bought four years ago, a couple dents here and there from small scuffles in the tiny parking lots that ran rampant through the campus. It was a pearlescent white civic, complete with a small decal on the front of the hood: a simple purple crescent moon she made in her high school shops classes. The only other decorative feature was a pride flag on the back window.

"Don't mind the mess," she forewarned as they approached, clicking twice to unlock both doors as she walked around to the front with haste so as to not let Catra in first. Her mom always slapped her on the wrist for leaving garbage in the front seat. Naturally, Glimmer didn't give much of a shit when she was away from home, only going home every second weekend. By the time Catra opened the passenger side door, the poor girl was somewhat frantically scrunching up wrappers and paper bags from fast food within her small hands, shoving it in the back seat next to her gym bag.

Catra slid into the passenger seat and kicked away a burger wrapper from her feet, completely unbothered by the mess. “You know I literally can’t say shit about it without being a hypocrite,” she said to Glimmer. Maybe they also would have been good roommates, since they had similar cleaning ethics. Too bad Adora had control of that, too.

Speaking of whom, and since it had been at least ten minutes... Catra pulled her phone out and gave it a quick check. Nada.

As soon as the car started up, she rolled her window down, letting the warm breeze flow through the stagnant air of the car. It was hot and sticky, the worst part about summer car rides, and it made her miss her old motorcycle-- which she completely wrecked, of course. “Know the way, or need me to navigate?” she asked.

"Oh, I know how to get there, no worries," Glimmer responded. _‘God it's fucking hot out,’_ she muttered as she began to twist her body around reverse out of her tight parking spot. She was an adept driver at this point, not as jumpy on the gas as she used to. It was a constant gag amidst the best friends squad that she was _terrible_ at driving, being so start & stop when she first got her license. Thankfully, her nerves had adapted to the roads considerably and now she was quite good at it.

The roads were pretty much dead with everyone being mostly gone for the weekend. Some foot traffic here and there with the odd other car on the road, but otherwise an uneventful drive. 

Catra leaned against the car door, staring blankly at the scenery as it whipped by. Old buildings and tree lines with college students on their way to their Friday night shenanigans. It felt really nice to finally get out of her dorm room, honestly. She didn’t even realize how shitty she felt until she was out there. Bless friends with cars. She would still glance at her phone here and there. Catra thought she noticed Glimmer catching her, but if she had anything to say about it, Catra was grateful that she didn’t.

Little was said during the first jaunt of their ride, but eventually they came up to a light that Glimmer was all too used to waiting too long at. _As great a time as any to spark up some small talk,_ she thought, her thoughts still somewhat fixated on that kiss.

"I wonder what my mom would think if I told her what I did today, heh," she commented, tossing a smirk over to the feline, her wonder joined by laughter.

“Oh man, she would have _lost_ it,” Catra cackled at the idea. She was a little surprised to hear Glimmer bring it up so casually, but why wouldn’t she? Since, y’know, obviously it wasn’t a big deal.

Before Glimmer had the chance to say anything, Catra grabbed her phone from the middle compartment that it was placed in. “Smile!” she said, holding the phone at an angle to get the two of them together.

Glimmer tossed two fingers up from the wheel and shot an open mouthed smile towards the camera in the split seconds she was given to pose. She wasn't too protective of her phone around her friends, sometimes even asking her passengers to answer text messages, even though she had some... _questionable_ pictures of herself buried in her photo album. She trusted her friends to respect her privacy.

She puckered her lips and snapped the picture, Glimmer’s phone still in hand afterwards. “I’m sending it to your mom, ‘kay?”

"Oh my god, _don't!"_ she said with desperation as she drove through the intersection once the light turned green. She glanced over to Catra who shrugged in response, but began to reconsider. "Actually... _do it,"_ she smirked. "No text though.”

Whenever she thought about her mom this week, she would get frustrated. Last weekend _sucked_ , feeling like there was no time for her to relax being constantly talked to about school and grades. Like, way more than normal! It was the least she could do to get back at her for making shit so much more stressful than usual this year.

Catra gave Glimmer a huge, wide grin when she changed her mind. “‘Atta girl,” she laughs. She loved Glimmer’s rebellious side, something she never knew about until she got to know her better. She had her pegged completely wrong when they first met, assuming that Glimmer was exclusively the uptight and snobby type. While she has her more serious moments, Catra knew there were some temptations she just couldn’t shy away from.

Catra opened Glimmer’s texting app, noticing Adora’s text thread near the top. It took every single ounce of Catra’s will not to open it impulsively. Fortunately, she doesn’t give in. It would be too awkward to explain if she got caught And _yadda yadda_ trust and friendship and all that.

She scrolled down a bit to Angella’s text messages, opened the thread and sent the picture on its own, as promised. “Sent!” Catra announced, proudly holding the screen towards Glimmer. "Want to take bets on how she'll react? Five bucks that it's _Glimmah, I thought we talked about the importance of choosing our friends!"_

Glimmer tossed a quick glance over to the phone screen, seeing the photo in her mother's inbox. _Aww, what a cute photo!_ she thought, smiling at Catra's big grin in the picture—something she hadn't seen in days—before looking back to the road. She elicited quite the chuckle upon hearing Catra's imitation of her mother. The accent was terrible, but the choice of words absolutely rang as close to accurate as they could have.

Raising her chest up, she delivered as much 'poise' as she could to sound as pretentious as possible. "Glimmer, we've talked about this! That woman is a _bad_ influence—you won't get distinguished honors if you spend too much time around her!" 

It started off completely in line with what Catra knew could recall her sounding like but it gradually festered with more rage as the end of her sentence spiked with anger. She shook her head as she struck the edge of her wheel with the palm of her head, muttering a _'fucking hell'_ under her breath.

Catra laughed along with her impression but the chuckles slowly died out as Glimmer’s tone suddenly got doused with bitterness. She had seen Glimmer angry before, and she’s easily the only person whose anger could ever rival her own-- but clearly the mother discourse pinched Glimmer’s nerves particularly hard.

“... W-o-w,” Catra commented. She reached over and poked Glimmer’s cheek, in a cautiously playful way. “You alright there, Sparkles?”

Glimmer collected herself, taking a deep breath as she turned down the volume of the music somewhat. She did not like losing her temper, no matter how present it was in her day-to-day life. The past couple years have been so much better on the anger front, usually able to keep her composure around the folks she cared about, but the way her mother was disturbing her way of life was constantly stressing her out in the past month or so. Now that she was finally deviating from the prim, proper lifestyle her mother wanted, it just felt suffocating.

"Sorry, Catra," she said apologetically, addressing her by name. "I just can't _stand_ how she's been talking to me as if I'm still a fucking baby!" she exclaimed, finally turning into the parking lot of the pizza parlour. She took a few seconds to park, shutting the engine off before continuing her small rant. "Like, I'm not just a little girl anymore, I'm a _woman_ and I can do whatever and whoever I want to!" she raised her voice again. "I just—! _Uuugh,_ grades seriously _don't_ matter as long as I pass the class!" she continued, a wellspring of thoughts bubbling to the surface that she wanted to continue bantering with, but stopped herself because it wasn't fair to just slam all this down on her friend like that.

Catra listened patiently to her venting after they parked, nodding along. The problem wasn’t exactly something Catra could relate to, but she did know that if she was in the same situation, it would drive her absolutely crazy. Who likes being told what to do all the time?

She attempted to say something comforting, but she instead blurted out, “Yeah, uh. It be like that sometimes.” Comforting people has never been her strongest suit.

“... Sorry, forget that. That was dumb,” she took back with a wave of her hand. “Let’s get the pizza first and we can bitch about how much life sucks after?”

Glimmer could always depend on Catra keeping it real. It wasn't her responsibility to say anything overtly caring. Her stress about her mom wasn't anything she needed to concern herself with, but... it was nice that she could listen to whatever feelings were burgeoning in her. She slowly nodded as she took the keys out of the ignition, turning to her friend and exhaling sharply.

"Yeah. When in doubt, eat it out," she tried to say profoundly, but uhhh. "Wait—no! _Eugh!_ You know what I mean!" she stammered bashfully, turning her head and opening the door to hurl herself out of the car.

“Pffffft!” Catra burst into laughter. She considered making a flirty comment back, but that would be too easy.

They entered the pizzeria together; it was fairly crowded but not too busy, considering that it’s a Friday night. There wasn’t a line at the moment, so Catra went through the steps of putting in her order which went something like _‘So I can get all of the toppings, right? Ok, I want them all. Hey! Don’t skim out on the meat.’_ She waited at the end of the assembly line for Glimmer to catch up so she could pay for her meal.

Her eyes watched the cashier closely as he went to assist Glimmer. When he was distracted by turning around to talk to a coworker, Catra took full advantage of the moment. In a quick motion, she bent over the counter, stole one of the drink cups, and concealed it behind her. The cashier was none the wiser by the time he’d turned around, and she gave Glimmer a small wink. Sure, Glimmer probably wouldn’t have minded paying for it as well, but why was the fun in that?

Glimmer giggled at Catra's innate impatience as she progressed with her own order. It was simple. Chicken, spinach, extra cheese. The only things important in life and in food. When the two pizzas were in the stone oven to bake, she went ahead and handled the payment. _"Any drinks with that?"_ he asked, to which Glimmer simply laughed, having just witnessed Catra's deft swiping of the cup. She apologized for the giggles, passing on the drink as she swiped her card over the terminal.

“Thank you,” Catra cooed afterwards, and she jokes, “I’m all yours now.”

"I suppose so, Kitten," she returned in jest with a quick wink as she glanced over at the fountain machine. "Coke," she somewhat commanded under her breath as she promptly gestured to the cup the feline held behind her back. She went ahead and snagged them a table by the window, checking her messages as she pulled her phone out of her hoodie.

**_(4) Momma_ **

Oh, this was going to be _good_.

Catra filled up the drink and walked back, making full eye contact with the cashier as she sipped from the cup, just for the hell of it as the poor guy just twisted his face with confusion. She nabbed the pizzas once they were ready and went to go sit at the seat Glimmer picked out for them. As she approached the table, she noticed Glimmer looking at her phone, going ahead and perhaps asking the obvious before digging in. “Did your mom reply?”

Her pizza was practically overflowing with toppings. As she grabbed a piece, she had to fold the sides up a bit to keep everything intact. It was messy and honestly pretty gross, but she loved it. She took a huge bite, burning her tongue in the process as pieces of excess toppings fell down onto her plate. Her tail waved happily back and forth behind the chair, as if her body was thanking her for _finally_ eating something today.

Already planning to recite what she just laid her eyes on, Catra's question couldn't have been more timely. "Oh, did she _ever_ , girl," she started, clearing her throat as she straightened her back and lifted her phone up dramatically between them.  
  
_"Glimmer! Why does that woman have your phone?!"_ she barely paused between each text, trying to be indicative of the rapid succession of them. " _And where are you going? Where is Bow or Adora?!" "Glimmer, I don't need to remind you about her behavior and work ethic,"_ she couldn't help but bust into a bit of a chuckle at how sad it all was. "And then finally just a few seconds ago, _'We will be talking about this.'"_

She slapped her phone against the table, adding more scratches to her already scuffed phone case as she finally dug into the pizza now that Catra had brought them over. She was _huuungry_ after such a hectic day, taking quite the bite as she reached over for the drink and took several sips before putting it back down between them. She looked... extraordinarily happy. Perhaps because of the pizza, perhaps because of her mom's fit. Maybe even because of Catra. Or all of them?

Catra clapped her hands in delight as she watched Glimmer’s impression, cackling. “At least she has consistency going for her,” Catra said. “If the day comes that she doesn’t hate me, we’ll know the apocalypse has probably already started.”

Glimmer was _beaming_ and Catra couldn't help but smile at it. There was something so bright and warming about her aura that she seemed to fill the entire room with it. Or maybe it was the literal magic that she exuded. Either way, though, it was nice to finally see.

Catra thought back to Angella's question, asking about Adora and Bow. Not that it got to her or anything-- Catra was used to being a disappointment to parents by now-- but it did make her realize... 

"This is the first time we've spent alone together in... months, I think?" she observed. 

She wouldn't be surprised if it had been over a year, in all honesty. More often than not, when they had hung out, Adora was also around. Catra hated that; that most of her memories of Glimmer wouldn't be in isolation, that most of them wouldn't be just theirs to share without her ex in them. She didn't know _why_ she hated the idea so much. More pettiness, probably, she thinks as she munches down on more pizza.

 _God, she was right_ , Glimmer thought. All of the other times they'd been in the same room or car together, Adora was _always_ there. She was one of Glimmer's best friends growing up, so naturally she tried to include her whenever her and Catra were doing stuff together in the past. In fact, that's pretty much the only reason why Glimmer and Catra don't hate each other, or at least she was the reason for them to STOP hating each other. Once Glimmer got to meet and get to know Catra, it feels like she'd been an admirer ever since. Maybe she _was_ a bad influence. Hah! Hell yeah.

"Yeah, geez... longer than that, I bet," Glimmer laughed, peering out the window before turning back to Catra. "It feels... nice," she said in earnest, beginning to feel somewhat flustered at the idea of asking to do this more often. There was definitely a pause for her to think about it while they ate their food and shared that moment of sincerity. Ugh, she'd _kick_ herself if she didn't ask.

"Hey... do you uh, do you want to do this more often? With me?" she asked quite forwardly, naturally unable to cease any rosiness in her cheeks.

"I don't know, Sparkles," Catra teased, "I have _suuuuuch_ a busy schedule now that I'm not in an emotionally toxic relationship." It was meant to be a joke, but she realized that it came off a little too much like over-sharing. Whoops. She backtracks a bit.

"As long as you're paying, though, sure," the fline follows up. She doesn't know why she can't just say something _nicer_ , like, _yes, I'd love that actually, I enjoy spending time with you and I feel like you get me better than anyone else does._ Ugh. It's much easier in theory than in practice. Catra fumbles with her thoughts, too preoccupied with them to notice how red Glimmer's cheeks have become.

"Pff! If there's _anything_ I can thank my Mom for, it's fucking money," Glimmer laughed as she nodded.

There was a certain sense of compassion she felt for Catra that stemmed from her sharing that bit about Adora. The more she heard from Adora in private at the dorms made her... lose some respect for how she handled things? Glimmer always tried to be understanding of Adora's side but just couldn't see the validity of it this time around, harboring some feelings of disappointment for her behaviors. Her heart hurt for Catra in that moment and she impulsively reached her hand out to hers and just lightly laid her fingers against the back of it.

"Hey, I'm... sorry that she treated you like that," she said in an attempt to comfort her, wanting her to know that not everyone was like Adora. They had been together for so long, and now Catra was in a state of complete unrest while Adora carried on with her life as if nothing happened. It was so... unfair!

“Yeah, well. It was a kinda two-way street,” Catra managed to murmur out. It’s true; they both said shitty things to each other, especially during the final fight. Catra knew she wasn't a saint, but hey, at least she didn't pretend to be one. Still... it felt good to have someone on her side. Catra really didn’t understand why, but somehow, the touch of Glimmer’s fingers against the back of her hand made her more nervous than their kiss ever did. Her ears stood up, alert, in sync with the goosebumps on her arms. She felt nothing but heat, but she nearly shivered, which was really fucking weird.

The moment was tender as they shared their sentiments about Catra's previous relationship with Adora. It was true, Catra wasn't completely devoid of error. There were things that she did to Adora that Glimmer didn't love, but that's just how breakups work. Nobody wins, until you both do.

"But I won't," Glimmer smiled wide, pulling her hand away to grab the drink. "Besides, if I tell my Mom we're dating, that reaction _might_ just make this whole semester worth it," she concluded, taking a dastardly long sip of the Coke.

There was quite the pause between them as emotions ran high, Glimmer writhing in anticipation as her heart wanted to beat out of her chest. Did she really just... ask her out?! Yeah, sure did! It suddenly felt so much harder to breathe as she could barely focus on Catra's flabbergasted expression, but she finally spoke, shattering her with the words she said.

Catra nearly had a heart attack at those words as she processed what Glimmer said, her chest pounding with enough pressure to burst. _‘But I won’t.’_

Wait wait wait. Wait a minute. Was Glimmer _actually_ asking her out? A thousand thoughts flew through Catra’s mind all at once. _Wait wait wait, is she for real? Is this a joke or—? But if Adora apologized then what— this shit would be_ so _messy but-- fuck I can believe she actually feels the sa—_

But instead of concluding any of those thoughts, her heart practically went silent. It dies in her chest, turns the light out and leaves her feeling cold as Glimmer finished out her thought. _Ah, right. How the hell did I almost fall for this twice? She wants to spite her mom. Like she did with the kiss. Duh, Catra. You fucking idiot._

“... Thanks, but I don’t want to go from dating _one_ entitled princess to another,” she said coldly, the ice seeping from her chest into her throat, freezing her words into shards that she wanted to use as weapons. It doesn’t come out as a joke, and she doesn’t mean it that way.

Just like that, the wind was knocked right out of Glimmer’s sails for a few seconds as she reeled in the rejection. She knew the answer, and _yet._ Of course she wasn't ready, stupid! God, Glimmer, you're so fucking du—!

“What would _I_ get out of something like that?” Catra followed up after her harsh remark.

Suddenly, Glimmer could make her counterpoint as thoughts of both her mother and Adora clashed at the forefront of her mind, easing into a maniacal smirk as she leaned forward over her food to speak in a lower tone. "Mutually assured _revenge."_

Catra wasn’t… expecting an actual answer to her question. _Huh. Well then._

The feline returned the smirk with a devious smile of her own, leaning forward as well. She grabbed the soda and also took a long, slow sip from it, maintaining eye contact with Glimmer all the while. Mentally, she took a genuine stab at weighing the pros and cons of the suggestion.

Pros? She took note of the taste of Coke lingering in her mouth, caramelly and almost sickly sweet, and she thought about how it wouldn’t even come close to how sweet revenge would taste. The temptation of it was too good to pass up. She saw it in Glimmer’s eyes, too, and the desperation for escape from her life almost felt like bloodthirst. Besides, Catra would be a good friend by helping her out, right? Plus, Glimmer was a good kisser. That part helped.

Cons? … Let’s be real, she’s never been great at weighing the cons. Catra leaned back in her seat, paused for a moment, and held her hand out to Glimmer.

 _“I’m in,”_ she said.


	3. Homework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer sends a salacious picture to her mother to light the fuse before helping Catra catch up on some of the classes she's missed, or at least that was the intention.

_Wow, just like that, huh? What the hell am I even getting myself into?! What will Adora think? I know my Mom’s going to be pissed but what’s she going to say? Will Bow feel hurt that I didn’t talk to him about it first? I tell him everything. What happens when we get back to her room?_

Thoughts ran rampant through Glimmer’s head as they made their exit following the finishing of their meal. She was smart enough to order a small 8-inch pizza so that she didn’t take leftovers—only a mini-fridge at the dorm after all—but Catra got a large and had to take the other half home.

They exited the pizza parlour and walked toward the car she had parked so delicately in front of the sidewalk leading up to it, but in that moment she remembered that she didn’t respond to her mother’s texts and left her on read. Every word she said was so infuriating and it just felt like she couldn’t be anything but upset, wanting to lash out in response but knew it wouldn’t result in anything good. _Hmm, they say a picture speaks a thousand words._

“Hey, Catra,” she said, garnering her attention to stop her in her tracks as she opened up her camera app’s front facing camera. Then, with her free hand, she slunk her arm around Catra’s waist and gripped her on the other side as the feline turned to face her call. With one hand on the camera trigger and the other around the girl her mother hated, she pushed her lips tight against Catra’s, pulling her into a tender kiss that resulted in a brief nip against her bottom lip. In that moment, she took a burst of photos, naturally not being able to focus on the camera and just praying that she got a good one before she peeled herself away with a grin.

Glimmer was ready to play with fire, and Catra was _living_ for it. She grinned as she felt Glimmer’s arm around her waist and saw the mischievous glint in her eye, the spark preparing to ignite, regardless of consequences. Her lips met Glimmer’s eagerly, and they curled into a giddy smile as Glimmer bit down onto her lip.

Halfway through the flurry of photos being snapped, Catra held her middle finger up towards the camera, hopefully in the right position, for an _extra_ fuck you.

The bonfire had finally been lit as Glimmer lifted her arm up around Catra's shoulder, remaining tethered from the kiss as they looked at her phone. Catra let out a laugh when they pulled away. She wasn’t sure if this was going to end up being one of the best ideas they’ve ever had, or one of the worst. But one thing was for sure-- this was going to be fun.

“Let’s see how they turned out,” Catra requests, peering over at the phone to pick out a favorite. Then again, if those pictures didn’t turn out good enough, they could always take more.

They giggled at the blurry pictures, gradually watching the progression of Catra's middle finger make its debut as she scrolled. It was the most she had laughed in so long, honestly. Finally, they saw a good one that looked like a modern renaissance painting, clicking and holding to send it over to her Mom with a 🤷 emoji as the only accompaniment to it.

 _Swhoop!_ Sent.

Catra lets out a low whistle as Glimmer sends the text. There it goes. Damn, she really sent that picture with no hesitation whatsoever. Catra knows that any reasonable person would probably be more concerned at this point, instead of being impressed by it. Oh man, if someone like _Bow_ was bearing witness to all of this? He would absolutely lose it. But Catra? She’s never been more proud.

There was such a sweet, victorious release as Glimmer heard the sound, watching the checkmark slide into place to indicate its delivery. There couldn't possibly be anything more jarring for her to see, and she needed a wake-up call badly. This was that wake-up call, Mom.

"Well, it's still early, should we head back? I can catch you up on some calculus shit," Glimmer suggested as she finally took her arm away to get the keys out of her pocket. She figured this was as good a reason as any to spend more time with her, as boring as it was. Granted, would they even get any calc done with all this new sexual tension? Didn't matter, the evening was theirs to do whatever the hell they wanted with this newfound feeling of catharsis.

At the mention of calculus, Catra scrunches her nose. “If that’s how you want to spend what might potentially be your last day alive—sure,” she says as they get back into the car. “I’d appreciate it. Maybe after we can do something more fun?”

"Just a _little_ won't hurt you, Kitten," she sighed as they hit the road, musicless this time. "Let's just cover that .pdf I sent you, then I'm all yours," she said teasingly and somewhat eagerly. Nobody—herself included—wanted to spend a Friday evening doing fucking math, but if she didn't help Catra now, the poor girl wouldn't get it done at all this weekend. Plus it meant Glimmer could have more of the weekend to _not_ do homework if she got it out of the way.

Glimmer eventually rolled the windows down to let the fresh breeze in against her face, relaxing her arm on the window sill as she slumped into a more comfortable position, driving somewhat autonomously. It wasn’t long, however, until her phone started rampaging with notifications near the transmission. As expected. _Ding. Ding... Ding. Ding... Ding... ...Ding._ Ahhh. Sweet, sweet revenge.

—

After getting back, they ended up back in Catra’s room. The feline considered the library, but she 1) did not want to have to interact with the general public anymore for the day and 2) did not want to look like a fucking dweeb in the library on a weekend night.

Catra sat cross-legged on her bed, drudging through the past couple weeks’ lessons of infinite series, her ears hanging downwards as she furrowed her eyebrows at Glimmer’s notes. She asked questions here and there, but for the most part, it wasn’t too bad… Granted, this was the second time she had taken the class, after having failed it the first time around by missing too many lectures...

In the meantime, Glimmer tapped away at her own homework, lending aid where needed on some of the more annoying interactions they were taught. She was able to get a lot of headway on a practice test and completed an assignment she almost finished in class earlier, then tucked her own laptop away and focused on helping her friend—girlfriend?—until she got fed up with it.

“I think that’s enough to call it a night,” Catra said once she felt she had a decent grasp of the content. She closed the heavy and outdated laptop, sliding it off of her lap and onto the bed. “Thanks, again.”

"Happy to help!" Glimmer answered with a smile, feeling pretty good and honestly quite impressed at how much Catra was able to get done. It looked like it was good for her to do something to occupy her mind amidst all the Adora stuff, surely. She took a glance at her phone for the first time in a while to look at the time.

**_Momma (11)_ **

She was so distracted by the drive home and getting to work once they got back, solely to just get it over with, that she completely forgot about her mother's texts. _Ehhh... later_ , Glimmer thought, tossing her gaze up to the top of the screen to observe the time. It was only quarter after nine, so quite early for her. _Definitely_ early for Catra.

"Only nine-fifteen—I can stay another hour or two before the sandman claims me," Glimmer said, locking her phone as it slipped over her leg, stretching her arms up against the wall she had her back to.

“Laaaame.” Catra flopped down onto the thin mattress and rested her head on Glimmer’s cushy lap, looking up at her. She usually took a couple of catnaps throughout the day and she couldn’t recall the last time she went to bed before 2am. It didn’t hold a candle to Entrapta’s sleep schedule, though; Catra was pretty sure she only slept two hours a night, maybe four max, but it worked out well for the two of them.

She wiggled around restlessly for a bit before settling into a comfortable position, the back of her head still placed snugly against Glimmer's thighs. It was pretty cozy, she had to admit.

“Did you get your fill of torturing your poor mother tonight? We could fuck and send her pictures of that, too," Catra joked, sticking out her tongue and giving Glimmer an exaggerated wink.

"Hah! That might be enough to give her an aneurysm," Glimmer laughed at the vulgar suggestion, her hand inadvertently coming down softly against the top of Catra's head. She grazed her fingertips through Catra's hair around her ears as she met her stare, picking up her phone with the other hand.

Catra let out a low purr at the feeling of Glimmer’s fingers brushing against her ears. Not that she would never admit it, but she missed these sort of soft, gentle touches. Way before her breakup, even. Those stopped months ago.

"Well, I've never had more than 10 unreads from her, so we've _definitely_ broken some records," she giggled, locking her phone and tossing it haphazardly across the bed beside them. She took the newly free hand and rested it on Catra's shoulder, looking back at her with a smile as she furrowed her brows. "But why stop there?"

Glimmer wanted to get comfy, having been sitting like this for almost an hour now. She patted Catra twice to signal her off of her before arching her back forward and shifting her body so that she could lay her head down against the pillow, now between Catra and the wall as the feline sat up next to her.

Catra huffed in disapproval when Glimmer wanted to move away-- hey, she was gettin’ cozy here! She relented, however, and mirrored Glimmer’s position on the bed. Her head rested on the other side of the pillow, and she faced Glimmer, leaving hardly any space between them. No part of them was touching, but Catra thought she felt something like static shifting through the air. Magic again, maybe.

Suddenly, the tension came rushing back as Glimmer was met with feelings of uncertainty. _Well... what now?!_ she thought, eyes fixed on Catra. She had already gotten a _ton_ of mileage out of this new relationship to get back at her Mom. She could very well just go back to her room, and yet, she just didn't want to stop being with Catra, either. Hmm.

“Are you nervous at all?” Catra asked her. “About what your mom is going to do,” she quickly clarified. Not nervous about being in the same bed with your hot friend slash weaponized temporary girlfriend. Because Catra’s isn’t nervous about that. Nooope, not at all.

She noticed a stray strand of hair drooping across Glimmer’s face. Catra reached for it and brushed it away, tucking it back behind Glimmer's ear with the rest of her bubblegum pink strands. She swallows down the lump in her throat.

Glimmer took in quite the deep breath, swimming in her nerves as the question rang in her ears. She was already tense from the slender feline being so salaciously close, staring at her—and touching her face no less! Suddenly she had to add thoughts of her mom's reaction to the mix. 

God, what _was_ she going to say? She saw the previews of the messages on her notification screen and they were _not_ pretty, so she had no idea what she was going to say to her next weekend at the house. Worse would be if she called her into the office on Monday just to scold her. _Eugh._ She takes another deep breath, without even answering Catra after the first one. Nope, no nerves in sight. What could possibly give her that idea?

Catra watched the panic flash across Glimmer’s face, and she couldn’t help but to wonder if doing this was all a mistake. Her rational side was telling her it might do more harm than good. However, she pushed down those thoughts almost immediately. Whatever. Glimmer could make her own choices, however questionable they might be. All Catra cared about was getting revenge on Adora, she reminded herself.

"Uhhh," she managed to squeak out, turning her head to face Catra as her body shifted onto its side, one hand on her round hips and the other propping her head up as her elbow drove into the pillow. "I-I mean, yeah? I have... _no_ idea what she'll do, honestly," she admitted, shaking her head as she unwittingly took another nervous breath, eventually locking eyes with the feline once again as she gently shrugged. _Geez, she's so close._

“Don’t play with fire if you’re afraid of getting burned, Sparkles,” Catra warned her, pretty sure that she was still talking about the Angella situation. She took note of Glimmer’s shaky breath, her frazzled voice. She isn’t sure how much of it is the conversation and how much of it was… this. Whatever this was becoming. Catra bit down on her lip, glancing down at Glimmer's, then back up.

While Glimmer was certainly worried, quite anxious about what might unfold between her and her mother, there was a thrill she couldn't ignore that Catra's agreement to this pseudo-relationship had bestowed upon her. _Something_ needed to happen in order for her mother to look at her the way she deserved to be looked at. There was no turning back. No way.

“That was kinda cliche though, huh?” Catra laughed. Before she even had the chance to answer, Catra brought her face to Glimmer’s and kissed her.

"I-I'm not afr— _hmmfh!"_ Glimmer began before she was so wonderfully interrupted by the supple feeling of Catra's lips being pressed against her own. She couldn't resist pushing back as her hand guided itself up to Catra's shoulder to pull her closer, ending up against her back as Catra's body was now flush with her own.

Catra pressed against her just as fervently, her own body longing for the softness and warmth of Glimmer’s. Her hand slid to Glimmer’s hips, felt the curve of her thigh, and reached behind to pull it towards her as their legs tangled together. The ferocity of the kiss made her feel almost dizzy. The desire inflicted itself upon every nerve, leaving every inch of her wanting even more.

 _‘Fuuuck yes’_ was the only thing Glimmer could possibly think, instantly forgetting all about her Mom as the nerves quelled, giving rise to the phoenix of need for more of this exhilarating feeling. The rush felt so _good,_ getting to taste Catra’s tart, eager lips again but not settling for just a nibble this time. She brandished her tongue against the feline's lips wanting entry as her leg shifted forward to link with one of Catra's, desperate to feel her even closer.

Catra smiled when she felt Glimmer’s tongue prodding at her lips. Part of her wanted to be a tease, but that would mean delaying it from herself as well, and she wanted so _so_ badly to kiss Glimmer as deeply as she could. She parted her lips readily, her own tongue playfully joining in on the fun. As their kiss got more intense, her grip on Glimmer’s thigh tightened, and let out a soft groan into her mouth.

Glimmer's excitement heightened as the sensation of Catra's touch graced her round thighs, wanting to completely surrender herself to the feeling, a certain warmth burgeoning inside as she made the motions to pull the feline atop her. She was much heavier than Catra and was somewhat self-conscious about crushing her, but in turn, was quite capable of moving her without much resistance.

As they twisted and turned, intertwining their bodies, Glimmer's free hand found its way to the back of Catra's head, clutching her tight by the ear as she pulled her body down hard against hers. She felt the warmth of her tongue twirl around her own, unable to resist letting out a tender moan that resonated between them, reveling in the wetness of Catra's taste.

Catra climbed on top of Glimmer more-than-eagerly, straddling her hips as she did so. The gravity allowed their bodies to press together as closely as possible and it felt amazing. She let out another, rougher groan as Glimmer pulled on her ear and in retaliation, she grabbed a fistful of Glimmer’s hair, tugging on it as she kissed back more roughly.

The aggression from Catra was stirring a feeling of obsession in Glimmer, frankly unable to get enough as her urges escalated. She began to slink the hand she had on her back downward, wanting to feel as much of her as possible as she gently clutched onto her ass, slightly pushing her own body against Catra from beneath. Eventually, Catra broke away to catch her breath, and she took a rest by burying her face into Glimmer’s neck, panting.

“Glimmer… _fuck,”_ she murmured, one of the rare occasions that Catra used her actual name. While she takes in heavy breaths, her hands slip under Glimmer's hoodie, brushing against the smooth skin she finds there. Her lips then press against Glimmer’s neck, sucking not-so-gently on her delicate skin. 

Every feeling, every sound, every touch was so invigorating as Glimmer felt Catra's tender digits caress her, trailing up her belly slowly with her sharp nails. As the feline broke away, still pulling on her hair, Glimmer couldn't stop herself from releasing a guttural, sensual moan upon feeling Catra's lips collide with her neck with the fervor she had adored so much.

 _"C-Catra, hah..."_ she cooed, her body still squirming beneath Catra's as she frantically continued to pull with her hands and push with her hips to grind against her, completely lost in the desire.

Catra wondered, _how far exactly, are they about to go? Was Glimmer down? ... If Glimmer was down, was she down?_ Her thoughts are interrupted when--

“Hi Catra and Glimmer!”

 _"Ah!"_ Glimmer squeaked, her gaze darting to the other side of the room. _Fwsh!_ In a pinch, Glimmer teleported out from beneath Catra to the return to her upright position against the wall, completely out of breath as her heart felt like it stopped from the shock. "S-sorry, Catra!" she blurted out as the feline collapsed against the bed.

Catra let out a shriek of surprise as she bolted upright, her tail and ears both standing straight up. Looking at the other side of the room, she saw the one and only Entrapta, who was exiting her own wardrobe, stepping out of it one leg at a time.

“... Entrapta, WHAT the FUCK are you doing here?” Catra yelled at her, gaping.

“Getting work done! I’ve been testing out different working environments for maximizing productivity. Small spaces can help promote concentration,” Entrapta informs her. Catra gives her a blank look. “Oh! You’re mad that I didn’t make my presence known earlier,“ she observed. “It wasn’t a problem when you two were studying! But Scorpia said, if you’re engaging in explicit activities with someone, I should probably leave...”

“Whoa whoa whoa. What do you mean, Scorpia said?” Catra questioned.

Glimmer watched almost in terror as Entrapta delivered the information that Scorpia knew everything that was unfolding, still coming to terms with the fact that Entrapta knew at all to begin with. Was one of them going to tell Adora? Or Bow? Both?! There was a rush of panic that flooded her thoughts, unable to form a coherent thought.

“I was texting her!” Entrapta answered. “It turns out that, no matter how small the spaces, external distractions are still an issue...”

Catra scrambled to find her phone, which had at some point fallen onto the floor. She hopped off the bed to pick it up, saw the numerous messages from Scorpia, and groaned.

"... Get ready for a _long_ weekend, Sparkles."


	4. Selfie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls went into the night with anxiety of uncertainty now that Entrapta and Scorpia knew of their little affair, but it wasn't long until the adrenaline came rushing back.

**_Scorpia [9:32pm]  
_ ** _Hey Catra!  
_ _So… I didn’t mean to pry, but… Is what Entrapta told me true? About you and Glimmer?_

 **_Catra [9:45pm]  
_ ** _ill explain later ok?  
_ _for now pls dont say anything to anyone_

By now, Glimmer left to go back to her own room. She seemed just as worried about their relationship going public as Catra did, both of them frazzled and anxious. Ok, yes, part of the point _was_ to make Adora jealous, but Catra wanted it to happen on her own terms. She wanted to see the betrayal on Adora’s face when it’s fresh, revel in the heartbreak while it’s still ripe, show her how it feels to be hurt by someone you thought you could trust more than anyone else—ahem. It would be so satisfying! Probably.

Catra didn’t trust Entrapta to keep her mouth shut, since she was just as bad at keeping secrets as Scorpia, if not more. It was a close competition as to who would win the title of ‘worst liar.’ After sending her quick texts to Scorpia, Catra ended up convincing Entrapta to keep working in the dorm for the rest of the night. If she can’t talk to anyone, she can’t blurt out unnecessary news to anyone. To ensure that even further, she also traded custody of Entrapta’s phone for a gift card to the cafe nearby that sold the tiniest, itty-bitty cakes—which she may or may not have kept in-stock for when she needed roommate favors.

 **_Catra [10:38pm]  
_ ** _ok  
_ _im back_

 **_Scorpia [10:40pm]  
_ ** _Hey there! What happened? Are you ok?_

 **_Catra [10:41pm]  
_ ** _yes im fine calm down  
_ _like relatively fine  
_ _anyways  
the thing with glimmer is complicated _

**_Scorpia [10:42pm]  
_ ** _It sounds like it...  
_ _So is it… a rebound relationship?_

 **_Catra [10:47pm]  
_ ** _wow are u trying to make me sound pathetic  
_ _nah me and sparkles are totes in love  
_ _✨ 👩❤️💋👩 💕  
_ _we might elope next week_

 **_Scorpia[10:50pm]  
_ ** _Wait really?!  
_ _Well… if you’re happy, then I’m happy for you!!!  
_ _I just wanted to make sure that you’re both enjoying yourselves in a fulfilling and healthy way._

 **_Catra[10:51pm]  
_ ** _ugh  
_ _why does that sound like something perfuma would say  
_ _wait a fucking minute  
_ _…………  
_ _please tell me that u didnt tell her_

 **_Scorpia[10:53pm]  
_ ** _… I was with her when I first texted you...  
_ _I’m sorry! Please don’t be angry. :(_

 **_Catra[10:54pm]  
_ ** _………………  
_ _im not angry  
_ _this is me not angry at all  
_ _🙃_

 **_Scorpia[10:55pm]  
_ ** _We won’t tell anyone else, I promise.  
_ _Oh! Are you two coming together to Sea Hawk’s birthday party tomorrow?  
_ _It’s pirate themed!_

 **_Catra[10:56pm]  
_ ** _every single one of his parties has been pirate themed_

 **_Scorpia[10:57pm]  
_ ** _💀 🦜 🏴_

 **_Catra[10:58pm]  
_ ** _maybe  
_ _its been a long day  
_ _ill text you tomorrow_

After all that, Catra felt like she could do nothing but lay face down in her bed and occasionally groan out loud, the whining sounds muffled by her pillow. All of this was inevitable, sure, but she wasn’t expecting it to happen literally a few hours ago her pseudo-relationship just started. Damn, when did all of her friends get so gossip-y?

She didn’t like lying to Scorpia. To the rest of their friends, it wasn’t as big of a deal. But something about their conversation made her realize the distance Catra still put between them. She wanted to be able to spill out her feelings to Scorpia, someone who she considered her closest friend. In the past, she always dumped that kind of stuff on Adora. Ugh. After all this time, why was she still like this?

Catra groaned again, rolling over to her side. She picked her phone back up, and she sent a text to Glimmer, a simple:

 **_Catra[11:15pm]  
_ ** _you up?_

—

The whole walk back to her room was filled with terror, her heart beating like crazy as her fist clenched around the keys jingling in her pocket. She was only four rooms down from Catra's, but this walk felt like it took an eternity. It was only quarter to ten, so it wasn't incredibly late, but there's no doubt that Adora was back by now and would want to catch up. She couldn't know. She can't. Not yet. Maybe not at all? Fuck. Suddenly she remembered the onslaught of text messages from her mom, whipping out her phone to read them all. Might as well bite the bullet.

 **_You [7:49]  
_ **— You sent a photo —

 **_Momma [7:51pm]  
_ ** _What the fuck?!?!_

**Missed call from Momma [7:52pm]**

_Answer RIGHT now  
_ _Glimmer!!!_

 ******Missed call from Momma [7:54pm]**

 _This is unacceptable!!!  
_ _There WILL be consequences for such inappropriate behavior so close to exams.  
_ _Catra is a TERRIBLE influence and you KNOW I think so!!!  
_ _How dare you send this to me?!_

**Missed call from Momma [7:58pm]**

_Answer me!!!_

**_Momma [8:35pm]  
_ ** _We will be talking about this in the office come Monday. Bright and early._

... Fuck. There wasn't going back, and she _knew_ that. She didn't regret doing it, but there was no denying that it still stung. It was more the uncertainty of the 'consequences' her mother mentioned than her actually being mad. That made her feel good, as guilty as that feeling should be right now. Was this the right thing to do? I mean, it got the reaction she was hoping for, and she got to make out with her hot friend. There's no way it was wrong, right? Ugh.

She eventually walked up to her door, trying to center herself as she took several deep breaths to not look like she was flustered or anxious before finally, she spun the handle open and walked inside.

"Glimmer! I was wondering where you were—what's up, girl?" Adora asked, leaning back against her chair and stretching her arms up. She had music playing from the bluetooth speaker on her desk, but Glimmer couldn't even figure out what she was listening to. It just sounded like static.

"Hey, Adora," Glimmer said with a forced smile. "Uhhh, not much. Got pizza for dinner at that new place," she continued, only making eye contact for a second before slipping her shoes off and swiftly walking over and flopping down on her bed.

"Oh, shit. That's open? How is it?" the blonde asked, returning her pen to the notepad to continue working.

"Honestly? Really good," she answered, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt some of her nerves finally quell. She was already opening her phone to check Scorpia and Entrapta's social media, somewhat paranoid of whatever they might post. Not that they would post publicly about it—that'd be weird... but, just in case.

"Who'd you go with?"

God, _seriously?!_

"Uhhh, I actually just... went by myself, heh," Glimmer started, immediately needing to make something up for all the extra time she wasn't here. "I drove out to the mall to get some shit too," she added after a brief pause.

"Cool! We'll have to go grab a bite some time," Adora commented, to which Glimmer didn't respond.

The minutes ticked by until it was 10:30, mindlessly scrolling until Adora finally wanted to call it a night. Neither of them really stayed up too late very often, so it wasn't uncommon to go to sleep at ten or just after. They said their goodnights, but all Glimmer did was turn down the brightness and kept scrolling once Adora had crawled into bed across the room. She was completely restless as her thought process repeated a cycle of Mom, Catra, schoolwork, Adora, rinse, and repeat. It was going to be a long night.

She plugged some headphones in so that she wouldn't disturb Adora and began to try to distract herself with some videos. There was a certain peace she got by watching others play games with commentary, bouncing between let's plays and music videos to try and tire herself out. That is, until she got a text she was surprised took so long.

 **_Catra [11:15pm]  
_ ** _you up?_

 **_Glimmer [11:15pm]  
_ ** _yes haha_

Catra didn’t exactly know what she wanted to talk about. Glimmer was just someone she didn’t have to lie to—as much, at least. They were in this together, and there was something comforting about that. She smiled at the thought.

 **_Catra[11:16]  
_ ** _cool  
_ _so i bribed entrapta to keep quiet and scorpia only told perfuma  
_ _couldnt help that one :/  
_ _any updates on ur end?_

 **_Glimmer [11:17pm]  
_ ** _omg perfuma too? geez  
_ _not shocking but still!  
_ _anyway i told adora everything  
_ _jk LOL  
_ _uhhh i basically made up some shit abt my night, thankfully she didn't press too hard, so ???  
_ _finally read my mom's texts tho...  
_> screenshot057.jpg  
_:x_

... Okay, 8 texts is enough, Glimmer, damn. She couldn't help but tease for a sec, if only because Catra would do the same to her. Once they got chatting, she began to feel her nerves dissipate as the seconds ticked by. It was really nice to talk now that at least some of the dust had settled, although now she was feeling some sort of way now that her mind was fixed on Catra. Barely over an hour ago they were tearing at each other's clothes. What if Entrapta... _wasn't_ there? It was devious, but somewhat fun to imagine.

At the text of Adora knowing, Catra literally screamed and immediately sat up, her eyes wide with fear as she watched Glimmer type more. Entrapta was too focused to notice or care, typing away at her computer on her side of the room. When the following text arrived, she rolled her eyes.

 **_Catra[11:17pm]  
_ ** _oh my god fuck u_

Of course Glimmer wouldn't have told Adora; that would be ridiculous. Catra admitted it though-- she got her with that one. Her interest piqued as she read that Glimmer finally read Angella's texts, and her jaw dropped as she read through the screen shot. Oh man, to be a fly on the wall for that meeting Monday. Catra wasn't too worried about it, though. Glimmer would be fine.

 **_Catra[11:18pm]  
_ ** _damnnn  
_ _ive never even heard ur mom cuss out loud before  
_ _she must be PISSED  
_ _nice job 😏 proud of u babe_

 _B-... babe?!_ Glimmer felt her heart swell as a grin swiftly took over her face. That felt so tender. Definitely not helping her case re: thoughts of an hour ago. _What if I was just... still there, tho? I mean it'd piss my mom off so much if I slept in the same bed with her, and… ugh, Entraptaaa._ She thought, still telling herself that this was temporary, but... dang. Babe, huh?

 **_Glimmer [11:18pm]  
_ ** _haha yeaaa. she's a total sailor at home, believe it or not  
_ _monday will suuuck but whatever  
_ _i'd do it all again 💕_

That should rile her up, buuut maybe it's best to not sound too flirty. Better diffuse.

 **_Glimmer [11:19pm]  
_ ** _damn it tho i'm like. wide awake lol_

Catra grinned at the reply. She was happy to hear that Glimmer didn't regret anything they were doing. It made her feel less guilty about getting Glimmer into trouble and less worried that this was all a bad idea. The princess put her money where her mouth was, who knew?

She stared for a moment at the last text and glanced over at her engrossed roommate. Maybe it was a bad move asking her to stay. If she hadn't, Glimmer could stay over, and they could have continued where they left off... She loses herself in her imagination for a moment, almost forgetting to reply.

Glimmer felt impatience as she waited for Catra's text message. Those two minutes felt like ten, lying there with her messages open just waiting for her to respond already. She wasn't thinking of her Mom anymore, or what Adora might find out tomorrow. Just Catra. Her hand was somewhat complacently shuffling downstairs as the same thoughts of the feline straddling her intruded her thou— _Ding._

 **_Catra[11:21pm]  
_ ** _aw thinkin about me? 😘_

... Geez, subtle _as_ always, Glims. Though maybe it didn't hurt to be blunt from time to time. Something she always struggled with even with just day-to-day interactions, let alone flirting with your fake girlfriend.

 **_Glimmer [11:21pm]  
_ ** _maaaybe 💋_

Catra was a little surprised at how fast Glimmer replied. She was so ready with her words, unfazed by whatever Catra threw at her. There weren’t many people who would meet her head-on like this, ready to bring the heat to the competition. And this definitely felt like a competition.

She focused a little too hard on the kiss emoji, as dumb as it sounded. How could she see that and not immediately think about Glimmer’s lips?? She pulled out the memory from earlier, remembering their rough kiss, the way their bodies desperately begged for more. She thought of all the other places on her body that she wished those lips would have kissed as well…

 _Fuuuuuck._ Letting Entrapta stay was the worst decision _ever_. The tech nerd wasn’t paying her any attention, at least.

Catra held her phone up and opened the front facing camera again. With her other hand, she grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it upwards towards her neck, giving a clear view of her cleavage, but leaving the goods mostly covered. She bit down on her lip, snapped the picture, and sent it.

 **_Catra [11:23pm]_  
******> unknown.jpg  
_to help you sleep_

Holy _fuck,_ Glimmer thought, taking in a deep breath as she felt the butterflies flutter in her stomach as her eyes were graced by the treat she was given. God _damn it,_ Catra. She responded swiftly with a heart eyes reaction to the photo, then turned her gaze to Adora's bed to make sure she was sleeping before she let her hand wander beneath the sheets, needing to sate herself.

She turned the flash of her front-facing camera on, pulling down on the front of her shirt and pushing her shoulders together to truly serve the bountiful goods everyone knew she had under there, revealing just a smidge of what Catra was so careful to hide. _Click._

 **_Glimmer [11:25pm]_  
**> photo05-15-1125.jpg  
_goodnight, kitty girl ✨_

She thought that this was going to help her _sleep?_ Hah. It was going to be a _long_ night and Catra damn well knew it.

—

Catra spent most of the next day still reeling in the emotions of the day before. It was one of the most chaotic days she'd had, and that was coming from _her_. Part of the new day was spent avoiding Scorpia, who she could tell was ready to bombard her with questions about her new relationship. Catra didn't have the energy to deal with that yet, though. She told Scorpia that she would see her at the party, and hopefully the two of them would have their act together by then. 

The other part of the day was spent texting Glimmer, going back and forth with their banter. Glimmer’s schedule tended to be more hectic than her own, filled with more club meetings and the like, so they weren’t able to meet up during the day.

Evening came, and Catra was in her room, staring in the mirror with more concentration than she could ever muster when staring at a textbook.

“Shit,” she cursed aloud, using a wipe to remove her failed eyeliner wing.

She normally didn’t bother with makeup at all—only extremely special occasions—but if she was going to have to see Adora tonight, she was going to look as _hot_ as physically possible, ok? She dug through her drawers to find the only fancy bra she owned, black and lacey with extra straps that made an X across her chest, and she wore it under a red mesh crop top so that it could be fully seen. She threw on a leather jacket for edge, and some black leggings to show off the hips. She looked hot and she was _well_ aware of it.

Catra took another frustrated drink of the beer she was pre-gaming with, though the buzz it was giving her was not exactly helping to steady her shaky hand. After another failed wing attempt, she relented, shooting a text to Glimmer:

 **_Catra [7:28pm]  
_ ** _are u busy?  
_ _i need eyeliner help_

Naturally, Glimmer was ready ahead of time and practically just waiting for Catra to signal her readiness as she looked herself over in the mirror a couple times to make sure everything was as it should be. Her style was predictable. Pretty, pastel, and cute were the usual suspects folks would toss her way at her palettable wardrobe. Today's flavor was a bit spicier, however, deciding to pass on the dresses in favor of something a bit more grungy to match with her date, but still retaining the pop of colour she was known for.

The feature piece was her acid-washed black denim jacket, hand-embroidered with patches of classic rock bands she'd collected over the years, plus some gay propaganda to fill in the gaps. It fit atop a low-cut pastel yellow top, just barely a size too small. Perfect to make her tits look nice, though. The rest of the ensemble was pulled together by a jet black skirt paired with translucent star-patterned tights. Oh, and of course she took this opportunity to wear those new kicks, too. _Ding!_

 **_Bow [7:21pm]  
_ ** _Nah, not this time! Brothers are in town, so Dads are taking us out._

 **_Glimmer [7:22pm]  
_ ** _oh fun!! yeah defs don't wanna miss that omg  
_ _enjoy and say hi to dads for me!_

 **_Bow [7:23pm]  
_ ** _Will do! They miss ya!  
_ _Who are you going with? Adora?_

Hah.

 **_Glimmer [7:25pm]  
_ ** _haha no, i'm actually going with catra  
_ _when we hang out tomorrow i'll tell you about it :)_

 **_Bow [7:26pm]  
_ ** _Whoa, that's  
_ _Definitely not what I expected to hear hahaha_

 **_Glimmer [7:26pm]  
_ ** _yeahhhh hehe. don't tell adora, it’s complicated_

 **_Bow [7:27pm]  
_ ** _You got it!  
_ _Just have fun and call if you need a DD!_

 **_Glimmer [7:28pm]  
_ ** _haha you_ know _how much I drink, Bow  
_ _also pretty sure it's walking distance so no worries!  
_ _thanks <3 _

_Ding! Ding!_ She read the message banners from Catra atop the screen as she sent her final texts to her friend. _God, why am I not surprised?_ she giggled to herself.

 **_Glimmer [7:29pm]  
_ ** _lol be right over, babe_

She did a quick once-over to see if there was anything she was forgetting. Her hair was right. Face was right. She had her ID. Dorm keys. Phone. Yup, everything accounted for. All that was left was to go fix Catra's mug. She left with haste to the feline's rescue, locking up on the way out, suddenly puzzled as to where Adora could even be. Was she already at the party? Well, that would be classic Adora. To show up either incredibly early _or_ incredibly late. Just never on time.

Glimmer took the short walk down the hall, snapping a quick selfie while the sun was still right against a window in the walkway, before reaching Catra's door and giving it a few knocks.

Catra was so, _so_ close to finally getting the perfect wing. Then, at the knock on the door, she lost concentration, flicking it in a completely opposite direction. Her eye area was getting red with how many times she had rubbed it by now. How did other people make this look so easy?

As she went to open the door, she felt her heartbeat picking up speed. As much time as they had already spent together, Catra was surprised at how excited she felt to see Glimmer again. Last night was, uh... a _lot_. Her face heated up just thinking about it. As convenient as having a roommate old enough to buy booze was, Catra has never resented having a roommate as much as she did last night.

Opening the door, she gave Glimmer a pointedly long up-and-down look. “Lookin’ good, Sparkles,” she complimented her, flirty in its straightforwardness. “Do you want a beer?” she offered as Glimmer walked in. She guessed that Glimmer preferred fruity, bubbly drinks or something, but might as well ask. Catra, for one, was not prepared to walk into this lion’s den of a party completely sober.

"Thaaanks!" she chimed in response, briefly holding her nails beneath her chin to frame her makeup-adorned face. Glimmer loved watching the local drag shows that would pop up on campus, and thus had quite the dramatic flare around her eyes. Long wings, subtle fake lashes, yellow highlighter—it was all there. "And I'm good, thanks—I barely drink as is, I'm resigning anything I have to the party only, heh."

She walked into Catra's dorm, doing a quick once-over for Entrapta before she decided to do anything provocative or whatever. She turned to her once the feline closed the door behind them and swooped in for a gentle kiss on the cheek as she grabbed Catra by the shoulders to get a good look at her face up close, admiring the half-decent job she'd done. But the other half...

"Well, much better than I thought it'd be," she giggled. "Let's get it, girl, show me the goods."

It wasn’t the first time Glimmer had kissed her cheek—she’d done it quite a few times during their friendship, and Catra would pretend to be disgusted by it—but it felt… sweet. Almost like they were _actual_ girlfriends. Hm.

Earlier, Catra had slapped on some drugstore-quality foundation over her face, and she had the dumb thought of wondering if the redness of her cheeks were coming through it.

“Here,” she said as she gestured to the small pile of cheap and likely expired makeup products on her desk. She sat down in the chair beside it, and she closed her eyes, prepping for her lids to be prodded at and swiped upon. “Work your magic, princess,” she requested. “No teleporting, though.”

"Oh—uh-uh. Absolutely not," Glimmer blurted out as she saw the crusty display, not holding back about sliding them off the surface into the mostly-full cannister beneath. _Fwsh!_ And she was gone. As a general rule of thumb, those with ties to magic or otherworldly powers were restricted from using them publicly, but Glimmer bent those rules time and time again. She vanished to her room and quickly grabbed her makeup bag. She spent an extra couple seconds turning her head around her dorm to see if Adora was there. Nope. _Fwsh!_

Catra opened her eyes to see Glimmer’s outline lingering in the air, and she was slightly startled when she appeared only a few seconds later in another flash of light. Glimmer moved so naturally through it all, and there was a sort of mythic grace to it. The feline shrugged and closed her eyes once more. Whatever products Glimmer brought would definitely look better, and they were definitely less likely to give her a skin infection.

The feline hadn't moved and Glimmer slid Entrapta's chair over to get to work upon her reentry to the room, first starting by taking off whatever Catra had on with her own makeup remover wipes. There was mostly silence as she prodded the kitten's face gently, but as she continued to strip away the foundation and residual liner, she thought more and more to the pics they had exchanged last night and all the sweet talk that came along with them into the wee hours of the night. Suddenly the butterflies were back as Glimmer's fingers were so delicately close to Catra's supple lips. She couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her, practically in full control as the feline's face now laid bare just minutes before the party.

"Mmm," she started, rubbing her fingernail against Catra's bottom lip. "Even nicer to look at in person," she whispered as she began to giggle, losing any sense of composure that might have allowed her to sound sensual. She reached for a stick of foundation from her bag that might best fit her and got to work.

As Glimmer's fingers brushed against her lips, Catra let out a shaky breath. She parted them and playfully but gently bit down on the tip of her finger, opening her eyes to make eye contact with Glimmer as she did so. She licked the tip of it while she had it caught, and she laughed when she let it go.

"Thanks for the pic, by the way," Catra told her. She shifted a bit to pull her phone from her pocket. After she unlocked the screen, she held it up Glimmer. Behind the rows of app icons was the provocative image Glimmer sent the night before. "It's cute."

At first, Glimmer smirked at the mention of the pic she sent, quite proud of it. The world knew her chest was a gift, but few ever got to unwrap it. That smirk quickly wilted into a bashful smile of embarrassment as she saw her tits flashed at her from Catra's homescreen, flustered but unable to contain her laughter at how ridiculous it was in a very endearing way.

"Well, there's more where that came from if you're a good kitty tonight," Glimmer teased, beginning to focus on getting her work done quickly. She didn't want to paint Catra to be the next Kim Chi or anything, but obviously wouldn't want to sideline her talents even for a simple look. She mimicked whatever Catra was going for with perfect symmetry, embellishing with some red highlight to coincide with the look. In record time, the kitten was ready to go, Glimmer nodding as she admired her work before packing up her things. She left it on Catra's desk, not worried about it staying there.

"Shall we, love?"


	5. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the day of Sea Hawk's party, and the girls are making their big move. Perhaps to no one's surprise, it doesn't go the way they thought it might.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some quick warnings for this chapter—it's a doozy!  
> — intense emotion  
> — alcohol use

Sea Hawk’s place wasn’t on the university’s campus, though it was just on the outskirts of it. In fact, he was no longer allowed to even have on-campus housing. Something about setting stuff in his room on fire too often, so Catra had heard. At first she thought it was a surprisingly ingenious way to get off-campus permission early, but no, he’s still just an idiot, and she regularly hears secondhand stories about his escapades as the token arsonist of the neighborhood.

The distance was walkable, and Catra and Glimmer made their way over when the timing felt right. Not the first ones to show up, but not so late that they didn't make an impactful appearance. The walk there was kind of nice, honestly. Just a refreshing stroll through campus. The summer air cooled down into a pleasant temperature, and the last colors of the sunset were melting away in the sky. Catra thought about asking Glimmer to skip the party entirely, to avoid all the drama that she expected... but admittedly, she also wanted to cause an absolute  _ riot _ .

Catra’s game plan? Walk in as a couple. Don’t make a big deal out of it. When Adora shows up…  _ do  _ make a deal out of it. The details were hazy, but she could make those up as they went with it. “Just stay confident,” she told Glimmer along the way.

"Hah! You don't give me enough credit, kitten," Glimmer chuckled, slinking her arm between Catra's, who had her hands in her pockets. It was subtle, not quite holding hands, but still a closeness that Catra would probably appreciate showing off for whenever they inevitably run into Adora. It felt nice, walking in sync as they chatted about whatever random crap along the way.

She was curious to see how this party would unfold itself. Sea hawk's shindigs are usually not the most booming or anything (unless it was in the literal sense) but there was always a good chunk of people and mutual friends at these things, friends that she barely saw in classes or at all, even. There was absolutely still the festering anxiety of Adora, but honestly she felt too captivated by Catra as they chatted to really give it the time of day.

As they neared their destination, the pirate-esque music was easily heard from the sidewalk, and they walked up to its source. Catra paused a few steps from the door, and she took a deep breath.

Glimmer was grateful she didn't wear the heels she was considering at this moment. Catra stopped, but she didn't, needing to turn after taking a couple extra steps ahead of the feline once they were on the walkway. 

“Here goes,” she said, as she held out her hand for Glimmer to take. “Ready for this?”

Glimmer reached her soft fingers towards Catra's hand as it shook a little, eliciting a slight giggle as she pulled her forward onto the walkway with her, answering her question with a question. "Are  _ you  _ ready?"

“Tch,” Catra scoffed, as to say ‘me? really? of course not, what a dumb idea.’ Catra braced herself for the worst scenario, and still holding Glimmer’s hand, she entered the party with her.

Glimmer soaked in the room as she steeled herself, practically carried in by Catra as she hastily made her way in. If it wasn't in her words, the nerves were definitely apparent in the way her body moved. It was kind of cute, in a way, how the anticipation of seeing Adora was making her faux-girlfriend behave. Catra's never been one to buckle under pressure, so it was quite the show to witness.

There was a short entryway at the door, which opened up into the large living room. The overhead lighting was turned off, replaced by one of those multicolored, flashing lights that college students bought online. A few of the familiar faces were already there. No Adora. Catra knew that one immediately. Instead, there was Sea Hawk of course, along with Mermista, Perfuma, Lonnie and her crew, someone who kinda looked like Sea Hawk’s bitter ex-boyfriend, someone who was part of Sea Hawk’s and Scorpia’s weird pirate acapella group...  _ speaking of— _

“Catra! Hey!” Scorpia called out first, as she made her way over to them. The party wasn’t full enough for their arrival to go unnoticed, and almost everyone’s eyes flashed towards them. Catra glanced at a couple of their faces, and she tried to guess their thoughts.  _ Why is it just Glimmer and Catra? Where was Bow or Adora? Did they come together? Wait, are they holding hands? _

There was a strange feeling that washed over Glimmer as she took in a big breath, nodding her head to the shanties playing in the background as their friends waved curiously over to them. Catra was still gripping her hand tight, even if Glimmer wanted to let go.  _ Shit, it's out in the open now, I guess _ , she thought to herself as it dawned on her that this was the true point of no return.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming, so I signed Sea Hawk’s birthday card for you,” Scorpia let Catra know as she approached. She always let Catra slide her name onto their “joint” gifts, although it was common knowledge among their friends that Scorpia was the one who put in all of the actual thoughtful work. Catra did appreciate it, though, and hey, at least she got Scorpia herself her own birthday presents every year.

“Great, thanks,” Catra replied.

“How’s it going, Glimmer?” Scorpia also greeted her. She leaned down to Glimmer's height, and in a loud whisper added, "Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me!" With that, she gave Glimmer a cartoonishly exaggerated wink that Catra couldn't help but to roll her eyes at.

"Hey, Scorpia!" Glimmer responded, giving her a gentle one-armed hug as she stood up on her tippy toes to greet her. She didn't really know how to respond to her second comment, so she... didn't. Just a giggle and a nod to push it off. "I'm good! It's been so long since I had an excuse to beat my face like this," she smirked as she suavely framed her mug with her free hand.

On the surface, Glimmer was keeping her cool, but the feline could feel her grip tighten pretty intensely around her hand, the girl's thumbs twirling around her knuckle completely involuntarily. She didn't think of it, but there was a burgeoning anxiety as thoughts of Adora continued to intrude whatever train of thought made its arrival in her head.  _ Why isn't she here already?! _ she thought, somewhat impatiently wanting her to just know already so she didn't have to face her about it.

“Oooooh!” Scorpia reacted in genuine awe, closely examining Glimmer's handiwork. “Did you do Catra’s too?” Catra nodded in response, making the same fame-framing pose that Glimmer did, but with a completely expressionless face.

“Very cool! Do you think you could maybe do mine one day too? Hey, maybe we can all hang out together again next weekend! How about a sleepover?” Scorpia asked her excitedly, her entire face alight with joy at the possibilities of a sleepover. She didn't dislike parties, but what could beat staying up late with your best friends? And if Glimmer was going to be Catra’s girlfriend, then she was determined to be Glimmer’s best friend too!

Having Scorpia around actually helped Catra feel less tense. Sure, she didn’t know  _ everything _ , but she knew enough, and her enthusiastic support for their semi-nonexistent relationship felt kinda nice. Glimmer, however, was close to cutting off the circulation in her hand.

"Y-yeah! I'd  _ love _ to paint your face!" Glimmer exclaimed, suddenly admiring the frame of Scorpia's face. She was gorgeous no matter how she looked, so it'd be an honor to elevate that even further. Glimmer ended up just laughing and nodding at the rest of what Scorpia was saying, her thoughts muddied by the white noise in her brain as other worries began to intersect with that of the Adora ones.  _ Scorpia shouldn't get too close to me, this is artificial after all. Right? God, what did Catra tell her? How much does she know? When would she— _

“Uh, hey, Sparkles, want to get a drink?” Catra suggested, hoping that it would take the edge off of her nerves.

"Ah!" Glimmer turned to Catra, releasing a buildup of breath she didn't know she had taken in. "Yes, let's!" she added, nodding rapidly as she became conscious of her heartrate, and also of her hand's grip. She loosened up, but remained tethered as Catra walked them away to wherever it was the booze was.

Scorpia raised a curious eyebrow, and Catra shrugged as she began walking away with Glimmer. “Catch you in a bit,” the feline bid a temporary farewell to her scorpion friend.

After they walked over to the drink table, leaving Scorpia’s comforting presence, Catra felt the stress setting back in. People usually failed to take into account how sensitive her hearing was, compared to the average person. She could hear shit-talking from a mile away, and the whispers from the other side of the room were clear as day, if she focused on them. Somewhere in there, she picked up a  _ “No way, really?” _ and a  _ “Does Adora know yet?” _

The way Glimmer was acting wasn’t exactly helping, either, but Catra couldn’t blame her for that one. Instead, she decided to blame past Catra's decision to have only three drinks before coming here. That was  _ definitely  _ not enough.

It felt gruellingly awkward for Glimmer as the others continued to point stares at the couple. _ I could just stop holding her hand _ , she thought, but for some reason just... couldn't. Catra's touch felt like it was the only thing keeping her grounded, despite being the source of her anxiety. Ugh. They swiftly got to the makeshift table containing all the ice and booze you could think of and a charcuterie to boot. Sea Hawk you  _ boujee _ bastard. She sharply inhaled and released she shivered for just a moment. It was time to wake up. "Catra, fuck me up."

Catra grinned wide and said, “I got you, babe.” While Sea Hawk's lack of theme diversity was questionable, at least he knew how to properly supply a party. Catra grabbed a cup and mixed together an array of different types of alcohol, finishing it off with a splash of soda. It was her go-to drink for getting fucked up as quickly as possible; it was potent, but it was shocking how easily it went down. “Careful,” she warned as she handed Glimmer the concoction.

“Haaappy birthdaaaay to meeeeeeee,” sang Sea Hawk merrily as he practically pranced over to Glimmer and Catra. 

_ "Sea Hawk! _ Happy birthday!" Glimmer blurted out before she could receive the drink, stunting herself forward in a wisp of light to welcome her friend into a brief, but tight embrace. "Thanks for the invite!" she added.

"Thank YOU, Shimmer! For coming all this way from campus for little old me!" the chipper host exclaimed in response, stancing himself proudly as he held his arms up to gesture to his flat.

"Wouldn't miss it!" Glimmer giggled as she finally turned back to the feline, who was still holding the potent drink out for her. She grabbed it, somewhat maniacally grinning at it as she made eye contact with her girlfriend. "Thanks, hun," she said somewhat salaciously, glancing back and forth between her and Sea Hawk as he continued to babble.

“Catra! How delightful of you to make it as well!” He clearly had already had his fill to drink, his cheeks red and his mannerisms more dramatic than usual. He ruffled Glimmer’s hair playfully, though not enough to mess it up. “You two simply  _ must _ drink with me!” he demanded.

“Sure thing, birthday boy,” Catra agreed, pouring herself a simple shot.

“Huzzay! To another year of adventure!” he cheered them, downing the rest of the beer he had been carrying around. Catra threw back her own drink and grimaced, stuffing a slice of lime in her mouth afterwards.

Upon Sea Hawk's semblance of a toast, Glimmer smiled intently at Catra before lifting the drink up to her lips. She  _ hated  _ the taste of alcohol, and wanted to just get it completely over with so she could start sipping on something a bit more up her alley, naively deciding to chug the damn thing not knowing just *how* strong Catra made it. Glug, glug, glug, aaand gone.  _ Eugh! _ So gross.

After successfully getting them to join in on the merriment, Sea Hawk skipped away with another cheer, probably going to pump up the rest of his guests.

Meanwhile, Catra was left gaping at Glimmer once she realized that she had finished the entire drink in one go. Uh oh.  _ Maaaybe _ Catra should have warned her how strong that drink was beforehand. Knowing how weak Glimmer’s tolerance was, that was more than enough to get her through the night. At least she got it out of the way?

_ Nnngh, fuck.  _ Glimmer's eyes shut tightly as she reeled from the disgusting taste and horrible rush it just gave her, as if she had just been hit by a car. She groaned loudly as she pried her eyes back open and took a breath to recalibrate.

“Whoaaa there,” Catra remarked. She poured a separate cup and replaced the empty one in Glimmer’s hands with it. “It’s water,” she clarified. “If you’re going to chug everything, at least do that one, too.”

Without saying anything, Glimmer grabbed the tall cup of water that was held out to her and downed that as well, panting somewhat as the effects dialed back, settling as she honed her sights back to Catra. She tossed the plastic cup over to the canister beside the table—surprisingly dunking it in a lucky turn of events—before extending that hand to grip Catra's forearm.

"Oh, I  _ like  _ this song," Glimmer smirked with an indulgent confidence that began to bloom as she began to tug on the feline. She wasn’t drunk yet, but the thought of the inevitable near future made her feel some type of way anyway. She started bouncing her head gently as a tune came on that was oh-so-right for everything going on with her (and Catra, for that matter) over the past 24 hours. Devil’s Dance Floor. 

Though the alcohol didn’t kick in for her yet, being able to finally let loose seemed to help Glimmer shake off her worries. Catra watched as Glimmer bobbed her head to the beat of the song, an affectionate smile tugging at Catra’s lips. She looked cute, when she was so light and carefree.

Glimmer’s worries hadn't vanished, but they slowly began to dissipate as she could feel herself ease into the party. She could still think straight, which was good, as she sang along to the irish punk band's tunes. It felt divine to finally let go, not hesitating to shake her ass and toss her arms around in the same area that others were hopping around in. Would she consider herself a dancer? Hell no, but she felt no shame if it meant having some fun. Soon enough, the worries  _ did _ vanish, despite feeling odd waves of discomfort every few seconds once a couple songs had played.

The initial stares faded away by now, and the party-goers had moved on, finally minding their own business. Someone else entered the house, and Catra’s ears perked up at the sound of the door opening—but nope, not Adora. She didn’t even know or care who this person was.

As guests continued to filter in, Glimmer's eyes shot to the door, still subconsciously paying attention to Adora's arrival.  _ Was she even coming at this point? Whatever, didn't really matter. _ The night was all hers: no Mom to reprimand her, no overdue school work to stress her out, and thoughts of the hot hookup she just had with her best friend's ex that continued to linger through all the worries. Not her usual standards of bliss, but bliss nonetheless.

In the center of the living room, a small dance circle had congregated. There was Perfuma with her weird, alternative dance moves that involved too much arm movement, in Catra’s opinion. Alongside her was Scorpia, swaying contently back and forth.

Well. If  _ they _ were going to be the elephant in the room, she and Glimmer ought to put themselves on display. Might as well make a show of it, too. She walked into the dance floor, approached Glimmer, and bowed slightly. Then she held her hand out as she asked her, "Wanna dance?"

Glimmer was quite happy to reach forward and pull Catra forward to her with haste, reeling her in quite close to her face. "Thought you'd  _ never  _ ask," she giggled, her hands inadvertently wandering Catra's waist, remaining teasingly close together.

Catra was, by all means, an incredibly awkward dancer. For the record, Adora was too. At parties like this, they would normally drink and chill on the sidelines. The times that they were dragged into dancing, usually by Glimmer and Bow, would only last for a maximum of two songs. It could be fun, but it wasn’t Catra’s ideal way to waste time.

Being here with just Glimmer felt  _ completely _ different, though. Glimmer was so into it, even dancing alone, and her exuberance felt contagious. Catra was able to release all of the usual apprehensions that held her from going all out, and it felt amazing. It turned out to be more fun than she expected, and she completely forgot her original intention of doing this for show. She kept her body close to Glimmer’s while they danced together, and occasionally she would grab Glimmer’s hands, pulling her closer when she got too far, or she would do something silly, like spinning her around.

These moments were heavenly and Glimmer felt weightless. Great music and greater company. Despite being surrounded by other people now that the crowd had built up, it felt like Catra was the only other person there as they danced into the night. Some seconds were goofy, full of laughs and stupid poses, others were sensual with tender kisses and grinding. She prayed it wouldn't end.

A few songs more had passed by, and Catra could feel the shot hitting her, letting her upgrade from feeling a little tipsy to solidly feeling good. Honestly? She didn’t even care if Adora showed up. She was genuinely having a great time.

“Sick moves, Sparkles,” she laughed, after a particularly upbeat song ended. “How are you feeling?”

Glimmer's eyes went wide at the question for a moment as she wracked her brain for some words. She was feeling a little woozy by this point, but the pure adrenaline she felt beat away any of the fatigue or headaches, of which were present whether she realized it or not.

"This is so fucking  _ great!" _ she shouted over the noise as she let loose an open mouth smile chock full of laughter. As she answered, her eyes wandered Catra's figure as the feline gazed at her so earnestly. What were the odds that  _ Catra _ was the one less drunk, somewhat babysitting her?

The giggling continued as she shut her mouth, biting down on her bottom lip, pulling her body flush with Catra's unable to resist how gorgeous she looked in that moment. She opened her mouth a couple times and stuttered out a couple syllables each time, but couldn't form any words. She was just completely, utterly smitten by Catra.

Catra couldn’t be completely sure if it was the alcohol increasing her heart rate— was that a thing? maybe that was a thing— but it was weirdly in sync with any time Glimmer would kiss her, gingerly and sweetly. Or when she would giggle, the cutest sound Catra had ever heard. Or when she would tease her, oh so knowingly. While Catra always knew Glimmer was pretty, how long had Glimmer been this radiant? She practically glowed, and something about it made Catra’s heart swell.

… Fuck.

Despite it all, Catra couldn’t keep herself from keeping an eye on the entrance. She went out of her way to always have it in sight, circling Glimmer and herself around while dancing, if she needed to. It was incredibly getting late into the party, but no matter how into the dancing she got, she couldn’t stop the thought from bubbling its way back up.

“Uh, Sparkles? Are you sure you’re alright?” Catra asked her again. She had hoped the dancing would help to burn off some of the drunkenness, but Glimmer was... definitely a lightweight. “Let’s get some more water, ok?”

As she was about to do so, Catra looked up.

She widened her eyes, sucking in a sharp breath. At the entrance, Adora gave a wave to Sea Hawk, the first to the door to meet her, followed by Mermista. She said something to Adora that Catra couldn’t quite make out. Adora looked confused for a moment, and her eyes scanned the room. They locked with Catra’s almost immediately.

The intense look almost completely froze Catra. She felt the urge to run, or throw up, or disappear.  _ Fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it— _

Glimmer could feel herself lose a bit of her balance, trying so hard to focus on what Catra was saying, still a laughing fit no matter how she shuffled against her, stumbling or not. "Water sounds goo— _ hnn! Mmnh," _

Before Glimmer had a chance to react to the look of shock on the feline’s face, Catra went in. She cupped Glimmer’s face in her hands, and she all but smashed their lips together. Her tongue slipped between Glimmer’s lips at the first opportunity it found, and Catra kissed her as deeply and intensely as she possibly could, pouring into her every ounce of fervor she possessed into it.

Glimmer wasn't watching the door. She didn't  _ see _ what Catra saw, and it absolutely did not matter. Not one bit. Not while the feline's tongue barraged her lips the way they did, her lips suckling with intent as she felt herself pulled tight against Catra, cradled in her arms. Her own hands desperately flung up to Catra's face to pull those cheeks in as close as possible, moan after sweet, tender moan.

Just as Catra was ready to break away, to finally take in what she had been waiting for, to finally see her plans coming to fruition… Glimmer pulled her back in. She hadn't had enough just yet. She pushed herself up onto the tips of her toes, colliding with Catra's lips again as she paraded her with the passion that had laid so dormant in Glimmer all day. This is what she was waiting for, laying waste to any and all other feelings. This was the  _ only _ thing she wanted to feel right now.

Catra let out a muffled  _ “mmf!” _ in response, but she melted into the kiss, dizzy with its passion. She felt the lust overwhelming her mind, almost forgetting that Adora was watching the entire thing. Wait, fuck. Adora was still watching the entire thing.  _ Wait. What the hell was she doing?! _

The second time the feline reeled her face back, Glimmer took a split second to study her face, curious to see what she was staring so fearful towards. Her glance shot over to the door, still lazily held by Catra's strong arms.  _ Adora. _

Glimmer sharply gasped, feeling her heart shatter with terror as she came to as many senses as she could, steadying herself as Catra's arms loosely remained around her. All of the underlying pain that the excitement shrouded began to rush to her all at once, dizzying her sight needing to squint to see. Her jaw remained unhinged as she stared towards her roommate, met with a face of disgust and agony from the blonde. Fuck.  _ Fuck. Fuck!!! _

_...What just happened?  _ Catra’s head felt hazy, and she felt like she was standing in the aftermath of a bomb explosion. She watched Glimmer’s face fall. She watched her go from full of life, full of happiness, to looking absolutely terrified. She could barely bring herself to look at Adora. But she does.

For all the years that Catra had known her, for  _ all _ the fights and rough times and painful memories… she had  _ never _ seen Adora look so hurt.

Shit. Why didn’t this feel as great as it was supposed to? What the fuck was wrong with her? They held the stare for a few seconds, before Adora finally looked away, biting down on her lip. It was something she did to keep herself from crying, Catra knew. She also knew that Adora had every right to get mad, to scream at her, to call her every awful name in the book. Adora did none of those things. Instead, she simply turned around to leave.

No, no. No no no,  _ no! _ This is  _ not _ what Glimmer wanted. Adora was her best friend, and never in her  _ life _ of knowing her ever since they were kids, did she ever see her in such turmoil, and she played a part in inflicting that pain.  _ Fwsh! _

She materialized again a few feet forward from Catra's arms, but slammed down against the hardwood floor.  _ Wham! _ "Fuck!" Glimmer shouted, grunting as she picked herself up, or at least tried. She slipped on her wrist as the dizziness took hold, but she persisted through the pain of the headache to get another look at Adora's back, watching her walk out the door.  _ Fwsh! _

"Adora! Adora,  _ please!"  _ she cried out the  _ second  _ she appeared in the doorway, stumbling over to grab onto her friend.

Catra could only watch as Glimmer flung herself towards Adora, begging her for forgiveness. She didn’t even know what she was feeling right now. There was no going back. It happened. And if it happened, then she should accept it and be glad that her plan worked. That’s how it was supposed to go. She wasn’t supposed to feel like trash.

Now ridden with tears she was trying to hide, Adora turned around to face her roommate with her fury, reactively tossing her arms forward to catch the collapsing princess. She helped stand her wobbly friend up, angrily shaking her head from side to side as she tossed a fiery glance to Catra, then back to Glimmer.

"I-it's not what you think! It's not  _ real _ , I—!" she began, sniffling heavily as the waterworks began to turn. "I don't love her, Adora! I d-don't  _ care _ about her! I just wanted to piss off my mom," she trailed off, her fists clutching onto Adora's sleeves as her violent tears continued crashing down against Glimmer's cheeks, smudging the work of art on her face.

Glimmer and Adora were by the doorway now, too far for most people to hear them. Catra wasn’t one of them, though. She was straining to hear Glimmer’s words, and while she didn’t pick up on every single one, she did hear a couple of sentences, crystal fucking clear.  _ It’s not real. I don’t love her. _

Ah. Yeah.  _ You know that, you idiot, _ Catra told herself. She knew all of this was fake. They established that in the beginning, right? It was fun and sexy and cathartic, sure. But they always knew it didn’t  _ really _ mean anything. So why did it feel like her heart had been clawed out and stomped on?

Adora stood her ground, shaking Glimmer off of her, taking a firm step back. She shook her head one last time as she clenched both her teeth and her fists, but after a single deep breath, refrained from any further action. "I can't  _ believe _ you," she stoicly said, turning coat and quickly pacing out the door. All Glimmer could do was watch.

Everyone at the party had stopped whatever they were doing to watch the event unfold. Catra met Scorpia’s concerned look, and she decided that she can’t deal with this any more. She wanted to crawl into a hole, stay there until she rotted away, so that no one could hurt her and she couldn’t hurt anyone else. All she did was ruin anything good she’s ever had. She disappointed her friends. She disappointed herself. Even these fucking strangers in the room probably hated her. She wanted to disappear. 

She went for the second best thing and made a beeline for the drink table.

The only person there was Mermista, who was sipping idly on a piña colada. “That was kinda fucked up, you know,” the mermaid girl said dryly. The judgement was more than apparent.

“Fuck off,” Catra told her. Why couldn’t people mind their own business? Mermista didn’t care to continue the conversation, and she left Catra to be alone. Good.

All the adrenaline sobered her up, and that was the last thing Catra wanted to be. She wanted to forget all of this, as soon as possible. She poured her another shot and downed it. Then she did another one.  _ It’s not real.  _ Then a third.

Glimmer felt everything hurt.  _ Everything _ . Her headache, her ribs from crying, her wrists from the fall, her fucking  _ headache _ . A nauseating feeling swept over her as she crumbled onto her knees. She was in her own, personal hell, writhing as her faded senses tried desperately to pull her back. Eventually, she lifted her head, greeted by the familiar hand of the host.

She grasped it and allowed herself to be pulled up, taking deep breaths as Sea Hawk somewhat uncharacteristically remained patient with her. He held her by the shoulders at the side of the room so that she wouldn't fall as he recited breathing exercises, of which Glimmer followed in those moments to center herself.

Sea Hawk remained with her for a little over twenty minutes to ensure that his esteemed guest—and friend—was in a better headspace before getting back to partying. The first moment she could, though, she turned her head to try and locate Catra. No matter how much she didn't want to see her right now, she  _ needed _ to see her.  _ Where is she?! _

"If you're looking for our ferocious feline friend—hmhm!—they are fixing themselves a drink or two!" Sea Hawk whispered somewhat aggressively in her ear.

Folks were staring. Barely talking, even. But Glimmer was too fucked up to even comprehend the static environment as she shuffled her way over to the drink table again to meet a cold, hurt Catra.

Catra didn’t even bother looking at her. She kept her eyes on her shot glass, and as she poured more liquid into it, she asked, as scathingly as she could through her increasingly garbled words, “Need something?”

"Catra, I'm  _ sorry," _ Glimmer pleaded, reaching her arms out to Catra but only to be swatted somewhat furiously away as the feline downed another shot. Suddenly, Glimmer was overcome with an indescribable rage, every possible feeling heightened by her intoxication. Did she just try to hit me?! she thought, completely misconstruing the action altogether.

"Isn't this what you fucking  _ wanted?!" _ Glimmer screamed, "To get back at her?" she continued, slamming her open palm on the table, not knowing how much that would sting the next morning. She was still battling an onslaught of tears combined with sharp, pulsating pains in her head. Glimmer clutched the side of her head with her free hand as silence befell them. Others at the party seemed to have resumed whatever they were doing, but neither of them could have possibly noticed at the moment.

The earlier series of shots were well into her system, and Catra let Glimmer’s voice blur into the background, refusing to acknowledge anything she was saying. Why would she respond to any of it? Why should she care how mad Glimmer was at her? It's not like Glimmer gave a fuck about her. She only cared about protecting Adora's feelings, clearly.

Glimmer watched as Catra continued to ignore her, back turned but slipping looks over her shoulder to look at her. It was agony in its purest form. Not only was Adora fuming with her, but Catra was too.  _ Fuck! _ She wanted to cry so much more, but the pain she felt riddling her body would not dare let her as every fiber of her tried to maintain consciousness, feeling feeble in the knees again, now using the table to help hold herself up.

Catra didn't need an entitled princess telling her all the mistakes she made. She was well aware, ok? She got it. She screwed up. She ruined any chance she had of getting back with Adora. She ruined her friendship with Glimmer.  _ Ugggghhhhh!  _ How could she be so  _ stupid? _

Maybe... maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe she could still explain things to Adora. Maybe she would understand. Maybe it was worth a shot. Hoping so, Catra fished her phone out of her jacket pocket, nearly dropping it in the process. 

Glimmer went to say something, but was met with the sight of Catra pulling out her phone. There was only one person she could be using the phone for right now. "What are you doing?!" she bellowed belligerently towards the feline, eyes burning daggers towards her faux-girlf—  _ Catra. _

At Glimmer's yell, she finally looked at her, glaring. "None uff your  _ fuckin _ business," Catra slurred. She turned away once more, unlocked her phone, and scrolled through her text. Jeez... was it always this hard to work this thing? She rubbed her eyes, shaking her head a bit to try and center her vision. She went slowly, one letter at a time, as she starting typing out:

_ im sorry. i miss you _

God, she was  _ so _ much more far gone than Glimmer ever was now. She'd believe she herself was sober if it weren't for how excruciating the pain of her headache was—probably attributed to the lack of food she had eaten all evening, if any. Despite the pain, she definitely had enough sense to recognize what Catra was doing, springing forward in her step to collide with Catra and force her phone out of her hands.

"Are you  _ kidding _ right now?!" she yelled, looking at the half written text. She could feel whatever was left of her heart disintegrate. It really wasn't real, and Glimmer suddenly felt so incredibly stupid for believing any of Catra's feelings for her. Why the fuck did she possibly think she loved her back, even for a moment?! "Give it up, she doesn't  _ want _ you anymore! Stop  _ fucking _ trying, Catra!" she exclaimed, raising her exhausted voice as she yelled in her face.

“Hey!” Catra yelped when her phone was snatched away, and she winced as soon as Glimmer started scolding her. She wanted to say fine, forget it, whatever… but the following words hit straight to the heart.  _ She doesn't want you anymore. _

Catra couldn’t say anything back to that. She was probably right; there was no point in trying. Adora might have even told Glimmer  _ exactly _ that. Catra told herself to just accept it. No one wanted her anymore.

Then, Glimmer released an empty chuckle that she couldn't stop, bewildered by her own stupidity. She shook her head as tears fell into place within the ruts of her makeup once more. "And to think I  _ did," _ Glimmer added as she shoved the phone back hard against Catra's chest as her hands fumbled to grip it before it fell.  _ Fwsh! _ .

Wait, what? What the  _ hell _ was that supposed to mean? Before Catra had the chance to ask, the princess was gone.

… Bullshit. It couldn’t have meant what she thought it did. She just heard Glimmer tell Adora that she meant nothing to her. The only reason for her to say what she did now was… Some kind of drunken mistake. Or some kind of twisted mind game. Maybe she even picked that one up from Catra. She was the  _ bad influence _ , after all.

The room felt like it was spinning. Catra wobbled her way over to the nearest wall for support. She slumped down, hugged her knees to her chest, and buried her face into them. Her body shook as she fought back any cries from coming out. It was too much. She didn’t know what to do anymore. How did she end up here? What was she still doing here? She wanted to leave, but she felt like she lost control of everything.

“... C’mon, wildcat.” Scorpia’s voice appeared above her. Catra said nothing, trying to ignore her. Her friend persisted and before she knew it, Catra had been scooped up into her arms. She let out a weak objection, but it was inaudible over the music.

“Let’s get you home.”

—

Forty-five minutes had passed as she watched the streetlights pass by. They drove in silence, Glimmer not ready to share everything that transpired tonight, let alone the past 48 hours. She just couldn't talk about it yet, but she was grateful Bow was willing to come rescue her. She felt a little embarrassed, probably sounding so pathetic over the phone as she cried, barely able to formulate her needs. There was no way she was going back to the dorm, asking if she could come stay at his Dads' for one night. Thankfully, he didn't pry. He just wanted to be there to help, driving to pick up Glimmer as soon as he could.

"Hey, you're alright now," Bow said gently, lifting one of his hands off the wheel to gently rub Glimmer's shoulder after hearing her start sniffling again. She still didn't speak, but there was no point in holding in tears. If there was anyone that could care for her unabashedly, it was Bow. 

It was mostly just... residual, at this point. Anger, ecstasy, remorse—every emotion Glimmer felt this evening whisked into exhaustion, stifling any coherent thoughts as her frazzled mind ran on fumes. Yet, she couldn't help but feel  _ worried,  _ thinking back to when she left. She pulled out her phone for the first time since she left, opened up her messages to Catra and stared at them for a full minute. Then, she typed.

**_Glimmer [11:38pm]  
_ ** _ please text me when you're home safe _


	6. Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the morning after the party. Bodies are hurting, feelings are hurting—it's going to be a long day. Glimmer has a revelation that shouldn't be as surprising as it is, and Catra decides to talk her feelings out.

_Ding._

...

 _Uuugh._ Glimmer rolled over to the other side of the bed, untangling herself from the sheets she had coiled so comfortably in last night. Bow's place was always so nice to stay at, but also dangerous with how comfortable the guest bed always was in the mornings. _Especially_ this morning. She flung her hand over to the side table that her phone was charging on, scrambling to reach it and needing to actually get up properly to get it. Annoying.

It had gone off a couple times already this morning, but each time it did she just couldn't bring herself to want to face the day yet. She and Bow had stayed up quite late into the night, just chatting about everything that went down. It was pretty ugly, honestly. There wasn't much Glimmer could have done to prevent her crying fits as she explained the whole thing. Her Mom, her plan, the party—all of it. She got the sense that Bow felt disappointed in a way, but that disappointment was completely overshadowed by his want to comfort her, which she appreciated. He'd probably never seen her in such a sad, sorry state. Physically or mentally.

She sat up and stretched, rubbing her eyes before reaching for her phone to unplug it, tapping it to light up the lock screen.

 **_Adora (7)  
_ ** **_Catra (2)  
_ ** **_Scorpia (3)  
_ ** **_Mom (4)_ **

_Whoa. Never had that many separate texts before, geez,_ she thought as she assessed the list. Her mom's texts were from before the party that she never opened, but the rest were fresh. Adora’s was the latest text, presumably the one that went off a few minutes ago.

 **_Adora [1:42am]  
_ ** _Where are you?_

 **_Adora [2:01am]  
_ ** _Glimmer?  
_ _Where are you???_

 **_Adora [2:28am]  
_ ** _I'm worried where are you_

— Missed call from Adora — **_[2:30am]_**

 **_Adora [2:31am]  
_ ** _Call me when you can_

 **_Adora [3:04am]  
_ ** _Just want to know that you are safe_

 **_Adora [9:01am]_ ** _  
_ _Hey are you there?_ _  
_ _Please text me today when you can_

Sigh. _Fuck._ She didn't even bother to check her phone while her and Bow were chatting. It was so close to dead when they got to his place that she just put it on a spare charger he had and didn't touch it after that.

 **_Glimmer [9:04am]  
_ ** _holy shit i'm so sorry for worrying you.  
_ _i'm at bow's, my phone was dead overnight and i just turned it on  
_ _thank you for checking_

 **_Adora [9:05am]  
_ ** _Okay  
_ _Thank you, glad you're safe  
_ _Talk later_

She took a deep breath, remembering a flash of everything that transpired between her and Adora. Her texts, despite being out of concern, still carried its weight in anger. She always texted with exclamation points and emojis. Not a single one of those in sight. But at least she texted her to check in, obviously not coming back to their shared room last night gave her reason for worry. That did make Glimmer feel a little better. Like she could still mend the bridge. Even if the bridge was completely blown up.

Next. _Ugh,_ but dare she even open it?

 **_Catra [1:21am]  
_ ** _yea im good  
_ _thx_

Okay. She got home fine, which was all she needed to know, but it truly took every fiber of her not to text her back right now. She didn't know what she wanted to say, but... damn it. It just sucked to think about how much she fucked everything up.

 **_Scorpia [1:15am]  
_ ** _Hey, Glimmer!  
_ _Catra is home safe, thought you should know.  
_ _Hope you got home safe!_

Aw. Sweet as always.

 **_Glimmer [9:07am]  
_ ** _yup, all good! thanks  
_ _can always count on you Scorpia :)_

That takes care of all that. She didn’t bother reading her Mom’s texts—they were from before the party and already knew what they said from the previews, just asking to call her or whatever. It was probably best to get up and get back to her own place, as much as she really didn't want to. Bow said to just let him know when she wanted to go, which she supposed was right now. Maybe she'd offer him an iced coffee on the way to the dorms so she could do at least _something_ to show her gratitude for his love and support.

 **_Glimmer [9:10am]  
_ ** _good morning! idk where you are, your dads' house is huge haha  
_ _is now a good time to go?_

 **_Bow [9:11am]  
_ ** _Lol! I'm in the garage tinkering.  
_ _Meet me when you want to head out!_

 **_Glimmer [9:11am]  
_ ** _got it!_

Finally, she slunk her legs off the edge of the bed, feeling the stinging ache on the bottoms of her feet as she stood up. She groaned, coming to terms with how sore her head and her body was from the events of last night paired with how much energy her body had spent crying before passing out. Honestly, it could be worse and she knew it. She located her shoes, slipped them on and quietly made her way through the house to meet up with Bow, thankfully not passing by anyone else along the way.

Bow turned his head as the garage door from the house opened. He was hunched over his workbench with a pair of safety glasses on, presumably working on whatever project he had going. "Morning, sunshine!" he laughed, spinning on his stool to stand up before holding out a small lockbox. "I'm making this box have an even _tinier_ box hidden inside it—for Entrapta's birthday in a couple weeks."

"Aww, she'll— _ahem!_ She'll love it!" she grumbled at first, not realizing how horrid her voice was gonna sound, now somewhat embarrassed. "Whoa, sorry," she followed up, swallowing her spit and rubbing her neck. Surprise, surprise: it was _also_ sore. Probably from how much she yelled at the party.

"Hope so!" Bow chuckled, placing the half finished trinket upon the work bench before walking over to unhook his keys from the wall. "All set?"

"Yep! Wanna get frozen coffee on the way? My treat."

"You know I'd never turn my nose up at one of those!"

—

Holy _shit_ this hangover. Wowie.

Catra blinked awake, and all she felt was nausea and pain.

It was too early to be awake. The sunlight that came in through the window was too dim, too soft. It had to be before 9am. She never slept soundly after a night of heavy drinking, her body too busy getting rid of all the poison that she willingly devoured to allow her any deep rest. It wasn’t the worst shape she had ever been in— not by far— but she had many many regrets this morning. Well. Aside from the obvious ones.

She remembered what happened the night before, and she wished that she couldn’t. What a nightmare. The thought of dealing with all the aftermath today was too much to handle. Maybe she could get away with staying in her bed all day. Or the rest of the semester. She wouldn’t be opposed to skipping out on the school year entirely. She had already changed her major four times; another mishap in her academic career wouldn’t hurt that badly.

Her memories did start to fade out after Scorpia had carried her to her dorm. She remembered Scorpia getting her to sip water, and... Oh, right, Perfuma had also tagged along for back up. At some point, the flower crown-wearing girl had said something liket, ‘We should take her makeup off for her. The soul can’t breath if the skin can’t breath.’ It was simultaneously eye roll-inducing and sweet. Also, Catra may or may not have cried at some point. No confirmation, but if she did, she hoped that the two of them knew it’s in their best interest to not breathe a word about it. She remembered that Perfuma headed home after she got in bed, but...

Catra rolled over and peeked over the edge of her mattress. On the floor, Scorpia slept, curled up with a blanket and a couple pillows. She let out a snore.

The catgirl grabbed her pillow and dropped it quite deliberately onto Scorpia’s face. “What are you doing?” she asked as her friend stirred awake, looking disoriented as she knocked the cushion away. “Just sleep up here.”

“Oh! Sure, if you don’t mind,” Scorpia said. The bed was the typical twin-sized, so that factor, along with Scorpia’s height and claws, made it a little tricky for them to find a comfortable position. Scorpia’s cuddling abilities made it well worth the effort, though. It took a few years into their friendship for Catra to finally be comfortable with her hugs, and she still won’t admit to enjoying them… But she’ll admit that they’re nice.

Catra yawned, and she nuzzled her way into Scorpia’s neck as she proclaimed, “Ugh, I feel like shit. I’m never drinking again.”

Scorpia chuckled in response. “If you say so.”

Both of their bodies agree; it’s way too early to be awake on a Sunday. They end up sleeping for a couple more hours together. The day could wait a little longer.

—

Bow lived just outside the downtown area of the college town, so there was _tons_ of stuff nearby. They were able to hit up a drive-thru and grab a couple breakfast sandwiches to accompany their cold beverages, setting up shop in the parking lot to chow down. He talked a little more about some of the projects he was doing, and Glimmer asked him about how his dinner went, too. It was nice to disconnect from her thoughts to just hear her friend talk so happily about his family. If there was any way to start a disgusting morning like this one, this was the way.

Eventually, after a pause, Bow wanted to check in with Glimmer. "How are you feeling today? Emotionally," he clarified, knowing full well that Glimmer's body was going _through_ it right now.

"Ummm, I'm not... sure, yet," Glimmer spit out, recalling her texts. Recalling _not_ texting Catra this morning. "Catra got back to me. She’s all good. Adora texted me a lot last night though with concern about where I was—I feel terrible about not answering right away and worrying her," she elaborated, a bit of hurt in her voice.

"Hey, angry or not, she obviously still loves and cares about you. Are you going to talk with her about it today?" Bow asked following his reassurance.

 _Love's a strong word right now, Bow, but... you're right. Why else would she text me?_ she thought to herself, thinking about whether or not she was actually ready to confront her about it. "I don't know. I want to, but... I'm not sure," she started before taking a long sip of her drink. "It's weird, like... I _know_ Adora and I will move past it, once we talk about it, y'know? She’s my best friend."

Bow turned with a bite of food in his mouth to nod, eliciting an _'mm!'_ as his response of agreement.

"But with Catra, like... I don’t know what will happen. I don't _get_ it! Why do I feel so hurt by _her_ when I knew it was fake the whole time?" she began to rant, her stream of consciousness slipping her lips as her voice raised somewhat. "She just wanted to use me to get back at Adora, and she did! So…” she trailed off, exasperated. 

"Well, _you_ wanted to get back at your Mom, right?" Bow questioned, trying to bring some perspective to help both of them understand Glimmer’s feelings better.

"I mean, _yeah_ , that was the whole point for me!" Glimmer confirmed, sounding a little annoyed in that moment like _duh, that much is obvious, Bow._

"Couldn't you have just, like, stopped after you sent the photo to your mom?" he asked, scrunching up his sandwich wrapper and placing it gently in the cup holder between them.

"Sure... but then Catra wouldn't have gotten back at Adora?" Glimmer explained, only tentatively certain of herself.

"You could have sent Adora the photo too, though, no?"

Huh.

"I umm, I guess? Hmm," she fumbled, not knowing what to say. Now that he mentioned it, she _definitely_ could have just done that and not even needed to set up such an elaborate plan. Why _didn't_ she? That would have been sooo much easier. Hell, even _with_ the faux-relationship in place, they didn't even have a plan until Scorpia mentioned Sea Hawk's party that night!

Bow shrugged. "So why even keep going after that?"

"I don't... _know_ ," she answered somewhat flustered, furrowing her brows as she thought harder about it. He spoke the truth, she could've stopped at any time. There were so many moments she thought about it, and could! But _didn't_. She was having so much _fun_ with Catra the whole time and didn’t give herself the space to realize it, blinding herself with rage towards her mother. The way she spoke so honestly to her, the way her presence naturally encouraged her to be herself—damn it, the way she _touched_ her was unlike anything else she’d ever felt. Catra understood how she felt, without ever feeling like she needed to explain. Nobody had _ever_ treated her like that.

And that's when it hit her. _Fuck._

“Bow, I think… I think I _love_ her?!” she blurted out, flicking her distressed expression of realization towards her friend, who was already grinning widely at her.

To him, it was bright as day that Glimmer had unrecognized feelings for Catra. Why else would she keep doing it unless she enjoyed it? He could always tell that Glimmer admired Catra, even before all of this. She’d always tease her in such a flirtatious way when they would all spend time together in a group over the last couple years. You could cut the accumulated tension with a knife at this point. 

_"Yeah_ , you do," he accused her with a chuckle to carry his words.

Her face turned cherry red with embarrassment, groaning as she slunk down in her seat. God, it’s _so_ obvious in hindsight. This whole time, she thought that Catra was an excuse to get back at her mom, but what was really her _mom_ who was an excuse to get closer to _Catra_ , a woman she’d admired for years. There was always an underlying jealousy she’d feel when Adora would always have her. It all made sense now. What was she going to do?! She was suddenly reminded of the awful things she said at the party, groaning even louder as she felt the sting of regret. 

“The time we spent together made me feel so... _nice_ and—! Ugh, I need to apologize, and… I need to _tell_ her,” she said, a spark of confidence chiming in at the end of her sentence. 

“Hell yeah, that’s the Glimmer I know,” Bow said, reaching his hand over to ruffle her hair, getting a gentle giggle out of her. “But I think you should talk to Adora, first,” he added with a certain firmness as if to remind her.

Glimmer sighed, then nodded in full agreement. Adora was hurting, and Glimmer needed to apologize to her before anything else. She pulled out her phone as Bow began to shift back into drive to take off toward the dorms, opening her texts to Adora.

 **_Glimmer [9:38am]  
_ ** _hey, are you @ the room rn?_

 **_Adora [9:40am]  
_ ** _Yup_

 **_Glimmer [9:40am]  
_ ** _bow’s driving me back right now_ _  
_ _should be home in like 10_ _  
_ _can we talk?_ _  
_ _if you’re ready_

 **_Adora [9:42am]  
_ ** _No  
_ _Not today  
_ _Leaving soon anyway for tourney day_

 **_Glimmer [9:42am]  
_ ** _ah, right  
_ _well, whenever you feel comfortable to_ _  
_ _just let me know, please_ _  
_ _  
_ **_Adora [9:47am]  
_ ** _I will  
_ _Maybe tonight  
_ _Depends  
_ _But soon_

_Adora is typing…_

…

_Adora is typing…_

…

Then she stopped, and it felt agonizing not knowing what she wanted to say. _I’m sorry, Adora,_ she thought to herself before locking her phone and letting the passing scenery from the drive back take her mind off of it.

—

It’s around noon when Scorpia left, after forcing Catra to take a shower and promise to not stay in her room all day. You don’t have to tell her that she doesn’t deserve Scorpia as a friend, she knows, ok? Her confidence in her own moral compass is at an all-time low these days, especially so after last night.

Right. Last night. Catra really didn’t want to deal with that. Ever.

It was all over. Everything was ruined. Adora hated her; Glimmer hated her. Both of those relationships were completely destroyed. Ugh. Fuck romance. Maybe there was some way to salvage her friendships with them, but that kind of dumb optimism was part of why she was in this situation in the first place.

However, she did want some kind of closure. It felt too weird for things to end this way, even if their friendship somehow survived this. So, she sent a text to the one who had been on her mind all morning:

 **_Catra [12:24pm]  
_ ** _hey  
_ _can we meet up later? to talk_

—

Glimmer had been at the dorm for a few hours now. She was hoping to see Adora and hash things out, but that had to wait, and it sucked. Of course, she respected her wish for space after everything that happened, but for her it just felt like every minute was an hour, her head spinning with what she wanted to say. She laid in her bed for pretty much the whole morning, on and off napping and scrolling through social media.

Though when she was online, she was met with photos her friends took at the party, only reminding her further about all of her mistakes. She didn't take any photos herself, which was somewhat out of character for her, usually very privy to taking her life to social media. The only photo she got was one that Scorpia took of her and Catra when they got there, and she hadn't sent it to her yet. Not that she'd want to post it right now anyway, but still.

The clock was well past noon now. It hadn't been a completely unproductive morning. She showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes, something very casual to lounge around in after sleeping in her party ensemble. It felt like there was truly nothing to do, but there was absolutely no part of her that wanted to get ahead on homework. Not even netflix piqued her intere— _Ding._

Seeing Catra's messages pop up was so... relieving? Terrifying? Somehow at the same time. She couldn't help but think of her all morning, just wishing that they could be together and act as if nothing ever happened. Glimmer wanted to feel that warmth she had grown so comfortable to, to smile and be picked up out of this rut she found herself in. To that end, she didn't waste any time getting back to her. She wanted to give her space, but happily welcomed her approach.

 **_Glimmer [12:24pm]  
_ ** _hey! yes!  
_ _i'm free all day  
_ _what do you want to do?_

Phew. Catra didn’t have to wait in agony for too long, since Glimmer texted her back almost immediately. That’s good, right? It meant that Glimmer wasn’t planning on holding a grudge against her. That thought helped to calm some of Catra’s nerves, but she wasn't sure if she was either dreading and looking forward to seeing Glimmer again.

 **_Catra [12:25pm]  
_ ** _did u get lunch yet?_

 **_Glimmer [12:26pm]  
_ ** _not yet, could use a bite to eat  
_ _come by and we go?_

It wasn't long ago that she had breakfast, but she'd be lying if she wasn't craving something right now to sate her lingering soreness. There was a small rush of nerves at the idea of seeing each other so soon. Maybe she should've suggested later? Ugh, whoops.

 **_Catra [12:26pm]  
_ ** _sure_

 **_Glimmer [12:26pm]  
_ ** _ok!_

Catra was already dressed post-shower, so she was essentially ready to go. After a quick glance in her mirror, however, she noticed that her eyes looked as if they hadn’t seen a wink of sleep in days. She found a pair of sunglasses and threw them on to hide the hangover tiredness. She thought that Glimmer probably wouldn’t be on board with covering her this time, so she grabbed her wallet as well.

With that, she left her dorm and made the short journey down the hall to Glimmer’s. Surely, Glimmer would have let her known if Adora was in the room too, right? Because _that_ was not a conversation Catra was ready to have at all.

She knocked on the door, though, and readied her excuses for needing to exit immediately, if need be.

Catra's arrival came rather quickly and Glimmer hadn't taken any time to get ready. Not that she needed to be the prettiest princess on the block today or anything, but she wanted to at least be presentable. She was just wearing a bright pink romper, usually something she wore as pajamas but you know what? Fuck it. It's a summer Sunday.

Upon hearing the knock, Glimmer let out a _'Just a sec!'_ so that she could actually get out of her bed and run her fingers through her hair. She tossed on some sandals, grabbed her wallet and keys, and swallowed the lump in her throat before opening the door.

"Heya, Kitten," she said, smiling up at her briefly as she stepped outside and locked the door behind her. It took a lot of energy to not push herself forward for a hug, suddenly overcome with a need for comfort as the anxiety of being together again began to set in.

“Hey, Sparkles,” Catra greeted her with a semi-forced grin. Damn, how was she always so casually cute? Seeing her again made Catra’s heart soar and ache at the same time. She wanted to apologize right then, to hear Glimmer say everything would be ok, to just instantly become a less shitty person who knew how to handle these things. But life doesn't really work out that way.

As they began walking down the hall together, Catra told her, “I need to eat something as greasy and comforting as possible, so hope that works for you.”

"Defs," Glimmer managed to casually respond, a bit of a chuckle in her voice as they walked. It was... tense, and that was putting it lightly. They spoke very little as they made their way to the stairwell, somewhat awkwardly holding the doors open for each other at the top and bottom of it as they made their way to the sparse parking lot.

The whole time, Glimmer wanted so badly for her to just _know_. To hold her hand again. She didn't want to wait for Adora to tell her it was okay, she just wanted to so selfishly let herself submit to her feelings. Instead, she resisted and continued to bat away intrusive thoughts. _Hey, I really like you—want to just kiss in my car for like 80 minutes instead?_ Hah. If only.

Ugh. Catra could hardly stand the awkward tension. Part of her wanted Glimmer to scream at her and tear her a new one, just to get it over with. She could handle that so much better than the silence that hung for minutes between them, which made her skin tingle from the discomfort of it. Though her therapist would argue that’s the shitty childhood talking, yadda yadda.

Wearing the sunglasses was proving to be one of her best decisions, she realized when they made the way outside. It was almost blindingly bright, and she forgot how sensitive to light hangovers made her. That, plus the worrying amount of time she had spent sulking in her dark room, but she decided to blame it on the hangover.

"Burger Queen? Could go for those evil mozza sticks they have," she suggested as she clicked the fob of her keys nearing the vehicle.

 _“Fuck_ yes,” Catra agreed. Nothing in the world sounded better than sticks of melted cheese right now.

Glimmer thought it wise to diffuse any silence with some good tunes as they hopped in the car. She had Boston's self titled in the disc drive, but took it out in favor of something Catra might like a bit more. It was like the _one_ retro thing she collected: CDs of... uh, well pretty much anything. From classic rock to pop to jazz, she liked it all. She pegged Catra for someone with a bit more grit, something punk-y, settling for the one Rise Against album she had kickin’ around below the transmission.

"You like this stuff, right?" she asked, holding the album up for a brief second before fumbling her somewhat-nervous hands to plug 'er in, before driving off through the empty parking lot on their way to chow down on deep fried goodness. It was a short ride, geographically, but naturally every minute they spent together felt so much longer as the seconds ticked by on the road.

“Oh hey, yeah, I do,” Catra said with a bit of surprise. “That album is one of my favorites.” Although, even if it wasn’t a record she enjoyed, she was so eager for anything to fill in the silent gaps that she would have agreed anyways. She found herself smiling when the first track kicked in, as it has been quite a while since she last heard this one. Catra bobbed her head to the quick beat and drummed her fingers against the car door, mouthing the lyrics that she was surprised to still remember.

Another huge win for the sunglass decisions—they were dark enough to hide her eyes, and she could look at people without them noticing. So, naturally, she kept glancing over at Glimmer, staring at her for longer than what would have been society-approved if her eyes were uncovered. She watched the way Glimmer concentrated on the road, the way she also bounced her head to the song. She looked so _pretty_ , even doing the most normal, mundane things.

Catra would catch on that Glimmer glanced over at her too, infrequently enough but noticeable. Each time, she'd look back to the road a little bit flustered. Glimmer wanted to just break into her apology already, but the ride was so short that it just wouldn't make sense to start until they got there. The drive went by less awkwardly than their walk had, thanks to the music, and by the end of the second track they were already pulling into the Burger Queen parking lot.

They made their way into the restaurant—which was thankfully completely desolate—and got up to the counter, this time with Glimmer first. She preemptively took out her card and began to announce her order, humming and hawing about what main she wanted. Really, she was just here for the cheesy goodness, so it didn’t really matter.

"I'll take the number six combo with mozza sticks! Oh, with a coke, and uhhh, whatever she's getting, too," she said, gesturing for Catra to plug in her order before paying. It was the least she could do to break into the conversation with at least some warmth to it.

Catra hesitated, but she decided that rejecting the offer might end up making things more awkward than not. Plus, even in the most uncomfortable of circumstances, she couldn’t turn down free food. “Four orders of mozza sticks,” she ordered. “That’s it.” Upkeeping a healthy diet was low on her priority list.

She offered to grab the food, letting Glimmer find a table for them, while she waited and played the possible outcomes of their conversation over and over again in her head. The food came fast, as fast food does, and she joined Glimmer a few minutes later.

Food first, talking later. She sat down across from Glimmer and took a bite out of one of her many, many mozzarella sticks. It was way too hot, and her tongue was definitely getting burned. But it was sooo worth it. It hit the spot perfectly, and the cheese pull afterwards was _so_ satisfying.

Once she had downed a couple, she finally asked Glimmer, “So, uh. Should we talk about last night now?"

Glimmer began unwrapping her food to eat up, but couldn't help stopping and watching Catra go to town on her fat platter of deep fried cheese. Honestly, the temptation for her to buy the same thing was high, but a chicken sandwich just hits the spot sometimes.

She watched the feline wince at the temperature of her food, letting out the softest giggle before finally indulging in her own meal. Any nerves she felt were smothered for a few moments as she soaked in the moment of her crush being cute, as usual. Naturally, they flooded back in full upon remembering what they were here to talk about.

"Ah," Glimmer responded, nodding with a pained smile. "Yeah, let's talk about it," she continued. It was probably better to hear Catra out before she shared her own selfish thoughts.

“First off, I… I’m sorry,” Catra apologized. Better get that one out of the way. “I’m not exactly _proud_ of the person I was last night. That’s not an excuse, or whatever, but… I feel bad about it. Really. “I shouldn’t have gotten in between you and Adora’s friendship like that. It was a dick move,” she admitted. It isn’t the most eloquent apology out there, but she was trying.

Glimmer quietly continued to eat as she took in what Catra was saying. It was clear she’d been thinking about it, speaking surprisingly concisely for the feline’s usual standard of discussion. She didn’t want to interrupt, but she made it clear that she was listening with a firm nod. 

“It probably wasn’t the greatest plan either… Ugh, I don’t even know what I was doing. I just...” She broke the sentence with a sigh, bit down on another mozzarella stick, and continued talking with a mouth full of cheese, saying, “I just didn’t get how someone can be so willing to throw away years of a relationship like that? Like it meant nothing to them? Just because someone is being clingy or immature or whatever. I didn't get it." She paused. "Well. I kind of do now.”

The princess continued to listen, but this time sharing a verbal agreement. “Yeah… I’m sorry, Catra,” she said, trying to at least sympathize with how Adora hard hurt her. She’d never had a full relationship before. There was a period of time where her and Bow thought they had feelings for each other, but it just didn’t pan out the way they thought it would, and have ever since been friends. That’s about it. Her mother sheltered her from dating pretty much her entire high school life. Ugh.

“Anyways, that’s not important. Relationships fucking suck, and I don't think I'll be getting into another serious one anytime soon,” Catra stopped herself. It wasn't the time to get into all of her relationship drama. It seemed insensitive, and she hated talking about her feelings, anyways. “My point is that I don’t want to ruin your friendships. And I don’t want to ruin your relationship with your mom, either. Not going to lie, I don’t really get the whole ‘mom’ thing, but I’m sure it has its upsides.”

Glimmer’s heart skipped a beat, only barely catching the last of what Catra just said. She came into this conversation confident about sharing her feelings for Catra, but suddenly was overcome with insecurity at the mention of her not wanting to get into another relationship. _Duh. What the hell were you_ thinking _, Glimmer?! No shit!_ she thought to herself. Her eyebrows furrowed, upset at herself for even entertaining the thought that Catra would think the same way. 

At least the sunglasses hide the fact that she can’t look Glimmer in the eye, Catra thinks. She continued, “It’s not like she’s wrong about me being a bad influence. We kind of go off the rails together. I don’t want you to do something you regret. We should cut off the whole revenge-on-your-mom-thing.” She doesn't know how to word it. This felt like a break up, but it also wasn't? How could it be, if they were never actually dating in the first place?

It was lucky for Glimmer that she _was_ still wearing the sunglasses indoors. Catra probably couldn’t make out the small ring of tears around her eyes that she was choking back, trying to keep her cool and come to terms with the fact that she didn’t want her. It was _crushing_. The worst part about all of this is that she’s still her ride back. 

“So… Anyways...” Catra said, coming to the end of her rambling. “We’re still friends, right?”

Glimmer was at a loss for words as she took in an audible, deep breath. It could have been worse. She could be mad at her. She could have cut her off and stopped being friends with her, but no. She’s still interested in keeping their friendship, and Glimmer had to bite down on the rejection that Catra didn’t know she even gave her, simply nodding along before finally responding.

“Y-yes, of course. I still want to be friends,” she remarked, following up with an involuntary sniffle. _Fuck_. She wanted to cry _so_ bad, but took in another deep breath to center herself so that she didn’t, as hard as it was. Though there was little she could do to hide it, she went ahead and rubbed her eyes to wipe away any would-be tears trying to be discreet. “I’m happy you’re not mad at me,” she added, trying to bring some optimism forward, mostly for herself.

Catra heard the sniffle. She wasn’t sure why Glimmer was crying. Was it something she said? Was it the Adora part? The mom part? Catra mentally kicked herself for it. She really needed to get better at doing this whole apologizing thing. She wanted to know why Glimmer was upset, but she decided that maybe it was better not to ask. If it was her fault, she probably wasn’t the best person to offer comfort.

Thankfully, Glimmer was able to clear her head enough to continue her time with Catra, though there was suddenly a nagging need to be back at home, alone. This didn't have to be a long visit, and it might just hurt to spend more time with her now. Today, at least.

“Yeah. Same. Thanks,” she replied. "Did you talk to Adora yet? Just wondering."

Ugh, of _course_ she would ask that, but it wasn't unexpected. Glimmer sighed, "No, not yet. I wanted to, but... well, I stayed at Bow's last night because I didn't want to see her, and we just missed each other this morning after he brought me back," she elaborated. She looked really stressed—her face scrunched up as her thoughts honed in on the imminent Adora conversation again, but she eventually started shaking her head and looking to Catra with a slight smile of assurance. "It'll be fine, we'll talk it out," she affirmed.

“Right,” Catra said. She knew she would have her have her own conversation with her, too, but it could wait.

She picked a bit at the rest of her mozzarella sticks, half gone and getting cold. Her appetite was gone at this point, and Glimmer didn't seem to be in the mood to stick around for longer than she had to. Thinking back to the nights before, Catra remembered how happy she had been. She hated that she wouldn't be a part of that anymore. Their friendship would survive, probably. But Catra felt like she had lost something just now, and she didn't know what it was, exactly.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are," Catra let her know.

"Yeah, I'm not hungry anymore—let's bust," Glimmer responded, bunching their food together to discard on the way out. Aside from small exchanges, not much else was said. Glimmer didn't know how to feel. Mostly just numb.

They made it back to the dorms uneventfully and began to exchange their goodbyes when they reached Glimmer's dorm. She was ready to be alone, but simultaneously not ready to leave. It felt weird. When Catra started taking her steps away, Glimmer impulsively reached her hand out to grab Catra's arm. The feline began to turn herself around, and she pulled her into a quick, tight hug. Friends can still hug, right?

"Thanks, Catra," she said as she pulled away, letting out her suspended breath. "Text me whenever you wanna chat or hang out again," she added as her arms slipped away from their brief embrace.

A smile tugged at Catra's lips, the first genuine one of the day. "Sure thing, Sparkles."


	7. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The week so far had been miserable and difficult for Glimmer, but Bow finally gave her a chance to get out and socialize to take her mind off of things. Or so she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning!  
> — intense emotions  
> — long chapter
> 
> thank you for enjoying our fic so far! we're pouring our souls into it and appreciate your love. <3

And just like that, the school week had returned on this humid Monday morning. Glimmer’s schedule cut her some slack on Mondays with her first class starting at eleven. Often, she’d sleep in and take it easy before starting her day. Better yet was that it was her favorite class of the semester, lining up directly with her major. Naturally, being an innate magic-user, she wanted to seek its higher studies, majoring in the arcane arts in hopes that she would one day _teach_ sorcery practices to those with the gift. The class was specifically the _physics_ of spells, which led to lots of practical tests and magic ‘playtime’ out in the field. 

Today, however, was of course not to the same beat as usual. She had to get up early to go see her Mom at nine to discuss _things_ . It was really annoying that she used this hierarchical power as the university president to force her to talk to her, instead of just waiting until they were both at home. Nonetheless, she might as well just get it over with. Part of her knew what was going to happen, but she also didn’t. Maybe this was going to go better than she thought, and _maybe_ she’ll open up a little to the idea of her doing what she wanted so long as school work still got done. Because it was! Throughout the rest of the day yesterday, that’s pretty much all she did to distract her from everything.

She wanted to talk to Adora last night once all the homework was squared away, but that didn’t pan out the way she’d hoped it would have, either. Adora got home quite late, and in an exhausted stupor went to bed _seriously_ early, being firm to Glimmer that she wasn’t ready to talk either. They may have said a sentence or two each to each other last night, but it was not much. Glimmer had to keep waiting, and it was going to make yet another day feel weird for her.

Glimmer was nearing the president’s office with frustration stewing in anticipation for whatever bullshit her mother would want to berate her with _this_ time, but was fully ready to defend and stick up for herself for once—and Catra, too. She knew her mother would have nothing nice to say about her, as usual, and that was _not_ going to slide today. Glimmer didn’t bother knocking, walking into the office a full minute before she was asked to be there. She was met by the school president alone, at her desk, in the middle of writing something.

“Hey, Mom,” she announced, sliding her bag off her shoulder and onto a chair near the doorway. 

Angella didn’t answer right away, but eventually put her pen down and stood up from her seat to walk around her desk to her daughter, a slight smile on her face as the two met in the middle for a brief embrace. “Hello, my love,” she greeted, pulling away before gesturing to the seat across from her desk. 

The princess sat down, back as straight as she could keep it as she glanced around the room. She was definitely not going to start the conversation, waiting as much as she needed while Angella returned to writing whatever letter she was signing. It took a couple minutes, but eventually the president slipped her pen back into its holster and slid the document to the side.

“Glimmer, you know why we’re both here,” Angella accused, though in an unusually soft voice.

“Yeah, I do,” Glimmer scoffed, gently rolling her eyes as she avoided eye contact. This already sucked.

“Why didn’t you text me? Or call me? Why wait until _now_ to talk to me?” her mother asked rapidly, already escalating her voice.

“You... wouldn’t have listened. So there was no point,” Glimmer explained briefly and bluntly. 

“That’s not true. I _always_ listen to you, but as your mo—” Angella began before her daughter cut her off with a raised voice of her own.

“No, you don’t! Every time I want to do something for myself, it’s like it’s the end of the world!” she yelled softly, one of her hands unwittingly being tossed around alongside her words.

“Glimmer, listen to me—!” her mother tried to butt in, but was stomped out by more of Glimmer’s pent-up frustration.

“No, you listen to _me!_ I’m not your little trophy girl that you can just... parade around anymore! Why is that so hard to understand?!” Glimmer asked, the adrenaline of fury carrying her words through the whole office.

Angella remained silent as she drew in a breath, trying to articulate a response. 

“I’m a woman now, Mom. I can do what I want _and_ get my shit done,” Glimmer continued, lowering her tone but still speaking sternly. 

“I know you are, and I’m proud of the woman you’ve become,” Angella said with utmost sincerity, eliciting a bashful, mixed look from Glimmer. “I just don’t want you to fall into the same hole as your… friend,” she added shortly afterwards.

Any comfort that Glimmer felt from Angella’s sentiment was tossed to the dogs at the comment so obviously about Catra. _Nope, not today._ “Who, Catra? The student that _you_ should be striving to see do well, and not... diminishing at every possible second?!” she yelled out, fuming more than ever.

“No, that’s not—!”

“‘University president’ my fuckin’ ass, Mom!” she unleashed, not holding back her rage as she teleported behind the chair and onto her feet to start pacing around in the office. “It’s always about Catra! You’ve always HATED her, but you’ve never taken the time to understand how sweet, caring, a-and smart she can be!” she ranted, drowning out any interjections Angella was trying to throw her way. 

“Glimmer! Do _not_ speak to me this way or so help me,” Angella began to threaten, standing up in her seat as well as her wings began to span the room to appear even bigger, now towering over Glimmer.

“Or _what,_ Mom? You’ll expel me?!” she aggressively teased, pushing the gas knowing full well she would never do such a thing that might otherwise happen to a different student. 

Angella vented out some garbled frustration as things continued to escalate. She took a deep breath before lowering her voice in an attempt to bring some order back to the discussion. “Look, I just want you to succeed, and I know students like Catra will never share the same ambition and natural talent you possess,” she started, finally given some space to speak as Glimmer caught her breath. “She could _never_ understand, and therefore you shouldn’t let her horrid habits distract you.”

‘Understand’?! Glimmer never felt more understood than she did around Catra. “The only person who doesn’t understand is _you_ , Mom,” she dejectedly said, burying her frustration as she stomped over towards her bag to pick it up and start visualizing a location to warp to in her mind. She was completely checked out and there was nothing of merit that her mother had left to say. It was all the same as usual, if not worse, and the striking need to rebel has _never_ been more present than it was now.

“Glimmer! We’re _not_ done talki—” _Fwsh!_ And the princess was gone. All Angella could do was sigh and gently sit back down in her seat.

—

_Ding!_

Yet _another_ text from Mom. _What does that bring the total up to now, 23?_ Glimmer thought to herself on her walk, unlocking her phone to check the banner preview, and also the time. Just before noon, and yup. 23 unopened text messages from Momma. This one’s preview? 

_‘If you don’t call back soon, th…’_ _(1m ago)_

The past two days were absolutely exhausting, no thanks to that encounter. It didn’t help that Adora still didn't want to hold a full conversation with her in the dorms, making things incredibly tense in the evenings. She could tell that Adora's anger had diminished, but it was still just... difficult for them to talk openly with each other. No texts from Catra, either, who hadn’t been attending their mutual classes. Glimmer couldn't tell if it was because of her or not? And couldn't help but worrying that she did or said something wrong despite their discussion on Sunday. It was hard, but at least classes were busy as usual to keep her mind off of it. She spent some extra time practicing spells when she could, venting at least some of her frustrations that way. 

Today, however, she finally had an opportunity to hang out with some friends. Bow invited her and some of their other mutual friends to a movie night in one of the classrooms he helped out in occasionally. 

**_Bow [4:48pm]  
_ ** _Hey Glimmer! I know this is last minute, but I’m setting up a movie night in the lab I help out in. Room 302. Perfuma, Entrapta, Scorpia all say they’ll come so you’re invited too!_

 **_Glimmer [4:50pm]_ ** _  
__omg yes!  
_ _i just finished class, so will see you in 20 or so!_

 **_Bow [4:51pm]_ ** _  
__Great!_

It had been a while since their last movie night, and now was as good a time as any. It was pretty close to Glimmer’s last class so she didn’t even have to exhaust herself with a tiring walk. 

She took a look inside the door’s overhead window to make sure it was the right room and was met with the sight of Bow toying with the projector at the front of the room. With a comforting smile, she turned the handle and walked in. 

“Heya, Bow!” she exclaimed, letting loose her bag from her shoulders as she turned towards the desks only to be met with a piercing stare. It was Catra, with her feet up on the desk and peering up from her phone, looking somewhat astonished. “Oh—hey, Catra!” she added, _trying_ to sound cheerful, but the reality was that she was suddenly quite uncomfortable. Bow said it was going to be Scorpia, Perfuma, and Entrapta, he didn’t mention Catra at all! Okay, maybe Scorpia invited her. That makes sense. In any case, this was suddenly a lot more tense for her than she was anticipating. It was very conflicting to see her. Not only that, but she was the _only_ other person here so far. Great.

“Oh. Hey,” Catra replied lazily. She glanced over at Glimmer and threw up a quick peace sign, then went back to staring at her phone. Internally, of course, she was significantly less chill. Her heart started racing the moment she saw Glimmer enter the room, and she glued her eyes to her phone screen only to avoid turning red at the sight of her. _Damn it_ , she thought. When Scorpia had texted her about a movie night, she said nothing about Glimmer being there. What the hell?!

Maybe if it would have been less awkward if Catra had just texted Glimmer, like she said she would a few days ago. It’s not like she _wanted_ to avoid her, or that she didn’t miss her. It just didn’t feel like the right time yet, ok? At least, Catra kept telling herself that every time she typed out a greeting, only to quickly erase it. She couldn’t even be sure that Glimmer wanted to talk to her, either. If she did want to, then she could have, right? Starting a conversation is a two way street!

This is fine. Everything is fine. This would be a little awkward, sure, but there was no reason to make it any worse than that. Sitting through a movie with Glimmer wasn't the end of the world. They were mature people-- most of the time. And it’s not like they were doing it alone.

“We’re, uh, still waiting on a few people!” Bow said aloud, visibly uncomfortable with the rising tension in the room.

Catra let out an audible groan, though it was usually her that was late to these kinds of things. She sent a quick text to Scorpia, asking, _are u on the way?_

“If we have to wait for them, we should get to choose the movie,” Catra demanded. “If I have to sit through another musical again, so help me.”

“Hey, musicals are fun!” Glimmer chimed back, objecting the feline even though she wasn’t _really_ in a sing-along mood.

Glimmer was of course happy to see Catra, feeling her heart palpate a bit as any unresolved tension came back to tease her. She wanted to give her space and try to unwind from her own unrequited feelings, but it honestly completely backfired. In the past couple days, she’d done little else _but_ think of Catra, trying to come up with potential ways to have a conversation without it being awkward, but… to no avail. She hadn’t texted her _once_ this week despite wanting to _so_ badly. And now she was here, in front of her, making her feel guilty about it.

She had to just suck it up. They were friends, no reason to be weird about it, right? She plopped her bag down on the ground beside the desk’s legs and fwsh! Teleported into the seat next to Catra. There was a space between the desks so it wasn’t jarringly close or anything, but the classroom was already smaller than average so it naturally felt a bit more cramped even if they _did_ sit apart. That would be a worse impression though, surely, Glimmer thought.

Once she got comfy, she sunk her hands into her hoodie’s pockets as she lifted one leg over her other. “Umm,” she started, instantly regretting opening her mouth, “H-how has your week been?”

“Same old,” Catra answered vaguely and shrugged. It wasn’t a lie, since the last few days had been consistent with her routine of the past couple of weeks: skipping classes and pestering friends for their notes; asking Entrapta to grab food for her on the way back; scouring the internet for entertaining videos... “You?” she followed up, for the sake of having a conversation to fill the room.

Glimmer wasn’t surprised by the dodginess of the feline’s response, but she was still a little saddened by the lack of openness that was so dominant in their texts and their words barely a few days ago. Still, at least she wasn’t ignoring her, which she almost expected.

“Ah, not much. I-I mean you know how my uh, schedule is,” she stuttered as she could feel the heat of her anxiety warm her up, reaching up to itch the back of her neck impulsively. 

While Glimmer was answering, another person entered the classroom, her arms filled with large family-sized bags of chips. As the door closed behind her, she froze.

“A-adora?!” Glimmer exclaimed as her eyes shot to the front of the room, staring into the eyes of her confused roommate, watching her brows furrow and shift into a state of disgust. What was she doing here? Bow didn’t say anything about her coming either! The only reason Glimmer came to begin with was _because_ he didn’t say Adora and Catra were coming. 

Catra frantically stood up, losing any sense of cool she was previously holding onto. “... Really? Are you kidding me?! Was nobody going to tell me _she_ was coming?” Catra yelled, shooting an accusatory glare at both Bow and Glimmer.

“Huh?! Don’t look at me!” Glimmer retorted as she blinked up from her seat and crashed her palms against the desk now standing up as well, darting her gaze between the three of them somewhat erratically as she _tried_ to make sense of this nonsense.

“Excuse me?!” Adora spoke up, her expression dumbfounded. “No one told me _you_ were going to be here! Either of you.”

“Adora! Glad you could make it!” Bow said, completely ignoring their bickering. He walked over to Adora, grabbed the snacks, and set them on a nearby desk.

The flustered blonde began to ask, “Bow, what is going on h—”

“Oh! Hold that thought, I uhh, need to go grab another cable real quick... I’ll be _right_ back!” he announced, though his voice cracked on the last word, something that only happened when he was panicked. 

Glimmer caught onto that mannerism quickly, knowing him the best out of anyone here. “Bow, wait!” she exclaimed, fruitlessly reaching her arm out to gesture him to stop, but he didn’t even bat an eye at her. Something was _clearly_ up, and before anyone else could object, he zipped out of the zoom and shut the door behind him. Suddenly, there was an awkward silence, and then...

 _Chink!_ There was a rattling that came from the other side of the door.

Catra’s jaw dropped. _Did he really just…?!_ She looked over at Glimmer, but judging by the expression on her face, it seemed like she didn’t have any idea of what was going on, either.

 _“Bow, what the fuck?!”_ Glimmer muttered under her breath as her hand lowered back to the table and gripped its sides tight with an unfurling rage. This didn’t make any sense—was he planning this the whole time?! If so, Glimmer was already thinking about how she’d tear him a new one when she saw him again.

Adora spun around and grabbed the doorknob, jiggling it desperately, but to no avail. 

“Bow! What are you _doing?!”_ she shouted. From the door’s window, she could see him putting his hands together in a pleading motion. She groaned and added, “You do know that I could just break this door down, right?”

Catra rolled her eyes at the weird flex. “Could you not solve all of your problems with punching things, for once?” she sneered at her. The hostile tone was leaving her mouth before she could stop it, but she felt like her anger in this moment could be justified. What kind of dumb set up was this?!

“Ughhh,” Glimmer groaned audibly, crashing down against the chair and making it skid backwards as she ran her fingers through her hair. She couldn’t help but elicit the most nervous and involuntary chuckle as her mind was flooded with nerves and panic. This was a nightmare.

Eventually, Bow made his exit down the hallway and Adora gave up trying to get him to unlock it, lowering her head in defeat as she grunted with frustration. With the fire ignited, she turned her fiery gaze over to the other two girls, equally frazzled and bothered by all of this, and began to take her steps toward them. 

The silence remained as the blonde took loud steps against the linoleum floor, reaching for the chair from the empty desk next to Glimmer, lifting it with ease up and over her head. Taking a few steps back, she slammed the chair down near the front of the desk, facing the others as she sat down and crossed her arms. Though she was directed at them, her eyes were fixed on the windows, watching other students walk by in the distance. If it wasn’t tense before, well… geez.

_Ding!_

**_Bow [5:17pm]_ ** **_  
_** _Sorry! Text me later! :P ❤ ❤ ❤  
_

Ugh. Glimmer understood what was happening now, and hated every second of it. Bow and Scorpia conspiring to get them all together? There’s just _no_ way this was a coincidence, no way. There was a part of her, though, that was genuinely impressed that Bow was willing to even stoop to this level—like, was it _that_ bad?! Were their other mutual friends as concerned? It was pretty ugly, Glimmer thought. The whole thing.

She looked to Catra beside her, who was royally pissed, probably clenching her teeth with rage beneath those scrunched lips. Then she turned to Adora, still not paying them any direct attention as she drew heavy breaths before them. There they were, two of her favorite people in the world. Angry. At each other. At _her_. It was beginning to feel like too much as her feelings continued to swirl into a mess that could only be described as the feeling of agony. 

Glimmer wanted to keep her cool so bad, but the overwhelming feeling of her pre-existing guilt and culminated rage was too intense. She wanted to disappear—to teleport away and never be seen again—but her mind was so muddy that she just couldn’t do it. Her elbows banged against the desk as her fingers ran up the sides of her cheeks to clutch onto her hair, letting her head fall into the palms of her hands. 

She bared her teeth, not wanting to cry, but couldn’t help it once she sniffled for the first time. It was a subdued, aggressive cry for just a few seconds before she sharply inhaled and stopped, wiping her tears with one hand as she looked in the opposite direction of the others, forcing herself to stop before she spoke. “I-I’m sorry, this is all— this is _all_ my fault,” she said, fumbling with some of her pronunciation.

Adora’s anger began to wane, and Catra’s expression softened. They shared a concerned look with each other.

 _Fuck._ Catra would be the first to admit that ‘people skills’ weren’t exactly her forte. She could listen to people's problems and give her version of good advice, but when it came to the crying parts, she panicked and tried to change the subject. That wasn't an option now, though, and watching Glimmer break down felt like a stab wound to the heart, especially knowing that she had a part in it. The cries pierced through whatever walls of pride Catra had erected, and she was left feeling guilty and ridiculous for the time spent building them.

She slowly sank back down into the desk seat, and cautiously, she reached out to Glimmer and put a hand on her back. “That’s wrong, and you know it,” she told her. “Isn’t it, uh, both of our faults?” The catgirl glanced back up at Adora, only to see that she was _also_ biting down on her lip, sniffling. Oh geez...

“G-Glimmer…” Adora managed to choke out. As hurt and angry as she still felt... it wasn’t worth it, she decided. It’s not like she wanted Glimmer to repent or anything. She didn’t want her to hurt at all. Granted, Adora wasn’t sure _what_ she wanted, exactly, but that part wasn’t new.

Glimmer was able to calm down enough with Catra's gentle touch against her back, taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes against the sleeves of her hoodie. She glanced over to Catra with her reddened eyes, and then towards Adora to listen to her.

“I mean… it’s....” Adora struggled to say. She took a moment to inhale deeply, steadying herself on the exhale. Her eyes were glassy, but she forced herself to look straight at Glimmer's. She felt like it was necessary, after having ignored her for days, save for a few superficial conversations. She felt terrible about all of them now. Glimmer was her best friend, regardless of it all, and she deserved more than that.

“Listen, I’m not angry that you two are together, alright? I’m angry that you went behind my back!” she insisted, her voice rising. “If you told me, maybe I wouldn’t have been ecstatic about it, sure... but you’re supposed to be my best friend! Best friends don’t do that to each other." She paused and went back to biting on her lip. "Maybe I’m imagining it, but… why did it feel like you were _trying_ to hurt me?”

The princess gently nodded along in full understanding, swallowing the lump in her throat as Adora broke down her feelings to her. She was right—best friends _don't_ do that, and she was right to be upset. But, wait... she was alright with them being together? Was she serious? Glimmer was _certain_ that that was a huge part of it. In a sense, there was almost relief in finally hearing her side on that front. Though it didn't mitigate her mistakes. She looked over to Catra who shared a look of guilt with her. They orchestrated this symphony of pain, and it was time for the curtains to fall.

"Look, Adora," Glimmer started, centering herself as she bunched her hands together. "It wasn't just you—it was my Mom, too—but, you're right. We _were_ , and... it wasn't right at all," she admitted, looking directly into Adora's eyes to emphasize her sincerity.

"But like, the way you spoke to me about the breakup, like... like it was so _trivial_ —I care a lot about Catra and... it hurt me to listen to. I couldn't help but feel a little resentment because it was just so... not the Adora I know and love, y'know?" she elaborated, not completely trying to defend herself or anything, but trying to share why she was so on board with Catra's end of things.

Adora fell silent for a moment. She couldn’t deny that part. Her and Catra’s breakup wasn’t exactly peaceful. When it ended, it left a bitter taste in her mouth, and the acidity latched itself onto her retellings, sometimes bringing out a hostility that she didn’t even know she had. It wasn’t the most mature thing to do, but she agreed with that, now.

“I… I guess I kinda expected you to be on my side, no matter matter what. That was wrong of me,” she admitted. For years, Glimmer was just Catra’s friend. It wasn’t like she didn’t want Glimmer and Catra to get along; she always wanted them to. After all, there were many, many years when they didn’t, and Adora was ecstatic when they were finally able to hang out together without fighting constantly. Even so, she never expected them to get along _this_ well. When she was complaining about their breakup, she hadn’t expected loyalty from Glimmer, or anything like that, but… she had expected her to understand.

She looked over at Catra, who was refusing to meet her eye. She looked angry again. Her hand, however, was still stroking Glimmer’s back. It made Adora’s chest tighten. It really did feel like no one was on her side anymore.

“I was… so tired. Emotionally. If that makes sense. I couldn’t take it anymore,” she tried to explain. She was locked back under Glimmer’s gaze, but she wasn't sure who she was explaining to. “But I… I still don’t think I deserved all of this. I—”

Her voice broke, and she swallowed down a sob. The tears brimmed and overflowed, sliding one by one down Adora’s cheeks. She went on, her voice growing louder, “I didn’t think you would do something like _this_ . Either of you. It hurt! It hurts having the two people you care about most in the world try to hurt you. _Way_ more than the actual thing ever could.”

Catra paled. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat. She didn't know what to say.

Glimmer saw Catra fumbling to find the words. On one hand, she wanted to wait, because Catra _definitely_ needed to speak up soon, but on the other she just couldn’t bear to see Adora continue to spiral. 

“Adora, I’m sorry. I’m _so_ sorry that I did what I did—that _we_ did what we did—you are right to be mad, and… if you can’t forgive me, I understand,” the princess said in one fell swoop, trying to stay composed as she delivered such heavy words. Adora was too far away to reach, but Glimmer shifted her body forward a few inches as her hand reached out to the edge of the desk. 

“I can’t forgive myself for what I did, but I _can_ work hard to be better for you—for both of you. I won’t let my bottled up anger take over again,” she began, feeling a rush of guilt wash over her as her hands started to tremble again. With her free hand closer to Catra, she unwittingly slunk it over to Catra’s knee and clutched onto it rather tightly as she could feel herself start to cry again. “I-I don’t want… t-to hurt either of you again, I’m sorry,” she managed to get out as she bit down on her cheeks to stop herself from any further tears. It was all out, now. All she could do now was stick to her promise and better herself for the girls she loved, forgiveness or not.

Almost instinctively, Adora reached out and grabbed Glimmer’s hand. It felt so soft against hers, still as warm and comforting as ever, and she squeezed it gently when she felt Glimmer trembling again. What was the point of being angry at her any longer? This felt so redundant. All of her stubbornness had gotten them nowhere. If she had just confronted her own feelings sooner, their words wouldn’t have gone unsaid for so long. They wouldn’t have festered and spoiled; they wouldn't have evolved into this.

Adora didn’t want to fight anymore. She just wanted to have her best friend back. She let go of Glimmer’s hand, and she instantly missed the feeling of it. After she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she stood up determinedly and walked the few steps to their side of the desk. When she stood next to Glimmer, she pulled her in close, hugging Glimmer’s head against her abdomen.

That did it. Any restraint Glimmer put on herself to stop herself from crying was released and she couldn’t resist wrapping both of her arms tightly around Adora as she buried her face against her stomach and sobbed. 

“It’s okay. I forgive you,” Adora murmured. Her fingers combed through Glimmer's hair gingerly. “I’m... sorry for not talking to you about all of it sooner.”

The emotions were intense for Glimmer, trying to reel herself back in after about a minute as she pulled herself away, grounding herself the best she could as she sniffled and wiped her face with one arm still tethered around Adora. Catra said nothing, but Glimmer could still feel her touch spinning gentle circles against her back and shoulders with Catra’s seat now pulled a little closer to hers.

Glimmer reveled in this moment of comfort, something she’d been needing for days now, but couldn’t help but feel a spark of guilt for this suddenly being centered around her when her friends were hurting just as much, if not more.

“I-I’ll be fine,” she started. “Will you?” she asked Adora as she looked up towards her from her seat, her face red and soaked. She wanted Catra to know, too, that her heart was with her as well in this moment, unwittingly shuffling her free hand over to gently rub against Catra's shoulder, glancing over to see how she was doing.

Adora held Glimmer all the while, stroking her head while the sobbing girl let it all out. At Glimmer's question, she took a step back, and she leaned down to be at Glimmer's level. She softly smiled as she cupped her friend's tear-drenched face in her hands, where it seemed to fit perfectly, and she wiped her thumb across Glimmer's cheek.

The lump still tightened in her own throat, but Adora was able to hold it back. She moved forward and bumped her forehead against Glimmer. The intimacy of the touch came naturally, like falling into bed after a long day, and she missed the comfort of it. Honestly, she couldn't imagine living without it, and the thought of losing Glimmer as a friend scared the shit out of her. Maybe that was part of the reason she was upset, if she was being honest with herself. She was scared to lose even more people she loved. To her question, Adora murmured, “Of course I’ll be okay.”

Catra still hadn't spoken yet, though her nerves had calmed down slightly at Glimmer's touch. What the hell was there to say, after all that? Okay, okay. There was _one_ thing to say. She might as well get that one over with.

"... I'm sorry, too," she finally apologized. Adora straightened herself to look over at Catra. Her expression was still soft, still forgiving, but it was noticeably more wary.

"It was a pretty shitty thing to do. I won't pull anything like that again. Promise," Catra continued. The final word felt like a memento to the trust they once shared. Maybe one day they could rebuild it. She hoped so.

But Catra felt both of their eyes on her now, and somewhere, an alarm went off. 

"... Anyways, great talk, glad we got that all sorted out," Catra brushed it all off, abruptly standing up and stretching her neck out. "Can someone text Arrow Boy and tell him to let me out of here, now?"

Adora frowned at her. "You really don't want to talk about anything else? At all?" she accused.

"Like _what?"_ Catra hissed, before she could stop herself.

Adora couldn’t believe her ears, and honestly neither could Glimmer. Catra was really okay with just continuing to sit on her unresolved feelings about her breakup? Nuh-uh. If they had to go through the gauntlet of their feelings, so did she, at least that’s what Adora thought.

“Like what? Like _what?!”_ she mimicked back, sounding perturbed as she could feel Glimmer’s hand slip from embracing her as she stood up. She turned to face Catra so they could speak clearly to each other, her feet navigating themselves back to her seat as she sat down against it, eyes still locked on Catra’s.

Glimmer was still recovering from her onslaught of emotional turmoil as she continued to recalibrate, but couldn’t help darting her gaze back and forth between the two girls who were practically glaring at each other. It honestly looked like they were both ready to jump each other, but… it also looked like they were really hurt and just wanted to hear the other talk.

Her hand was still absently touching Catra’s arm and her grip tightened very gently around her as the feline shot her a look. It was a hasty scowl, seething with rage and hurt, but it quickly softened when she saw Glimmer’s expression, before the princess spoke. “You _need_ to talk about it,” she said gently, wanting to see Catra heal with utmost sympathy in her voice.

Upon hearing Glimmer’s words, Adora let go of any negative feelings in full agreement. Her and Catra have needed to have this discussion for over a week now, and it wasn’t doing them any favors to keep avoiding it. Her crossed arms unfurled and she slunk them somewhat anxiously into her hoodie’s pockets as she drew a deep breath, ready for round two.

“... Fine, fine” Catra relented, even though she really _really_ didn’t want to do this. She would have gotten around to it on her own time; she didn’t need her nosy friends plotting an intervention like this. Having Glimmer sitting right there made it feel even weirder. Was the (girl)friend that Catra was making out with last weekend really about to listen to all of her breakup drama? Something about that made Catra’s stomach twist. She didn’t want Glimmer to see her at her worst—well, more than she already had.

The catgirl sat back down defeatedly, her arms crossed. If they wanted her to talk, fine, but they couldn’t blame her if anyone’s feelings got hurt by the end of this. “Can I just say, isn’t it kind of ironic that you’re complaining so much about honesty? Where were those high-and-mighty morals of yours when you kept lying to me about being busy?” she brought up.

Glimmer shuffled in her seat, paying close attention. She didn't want to be _nosy_ , per se, but she had been so interested in hearing Catra's side of the story ever since she first heard about it. It was already very telling of Adora's previous destructive behaviors regarding it, from what she could gather. Adora would constantly start conversations with things like ‘I love Catra, but’ and Glimmer was upset that she didn't realize it was snowballing the way it did. She should have said something to Adora way sooner, but hindsight is 20/20.

“If you were getting tired of me, you should have just said so!” Catra kept going, struggling to control the anger from rising again. “You used to _like_ how clingy I was. It was great when it boosted your ego, right? You _used_ me.”

While it might have been an overexaggerated accusation, sometimes she did feel like she was a tool, a plot device only used to boost Adora’s confidence. Maaaybe it went both ways, though. She wouldn't deny it if it was brought up. Being with Adora made her feel powerful. Seen. Cared for. Was that really such an awful thing?

Adora donned a look of guilt as Catra shot her accusations. She wasn't completely wrong, and that's why it felt like a bullet. Adora loved the attention, it made her feel strong to have someone supporting her so unconditionally, without effort. She couldn't dispute that, and she especially couldn't refute her intentional dodging when it got to be too much. She was absolutely convinced that it was the right way. To gently separate herself so that she could let Catra off lightly, but it was transparent now that it did waaay more harm than good, and it didn't help that Adora felt anxious the whole time she was conscious of it. Which was months.

"You're right," she said, staring coldly at Catra, completely surrendering. She didn't elaborate at first, just kind of shaking her head and wallowing in her own regret as it all ran crystal clear before her. "I was overwhelmed, and... acted stupid, like a child about it," she admitted, tossing her eyes away from the girls. "I'm awful, and don't deserve your forgiveness." Then, more silence.

"Adora," Glimmer chimed in, wanting to reel Adora back before she fully gave up. She did this when she knew she was wrong, and it often just led to self destructive habits for weeks. _No, not this time._ If there's anything a best friend is for, it's this. "If you can forgive me," she paused, turning to Catra whose expression was so indistinguishable, then back to Adora. "Then there's no reason you can't be forgiven. Owning your mistakes is the first step," she explained with utmost sincerity.

Adora remained quiet, but took a deep breath as she continued to think. Glimmer was right, though she always _hated_ admitting she was wrong under any circumstance. She turned to Catra, realizing she hadn't said the most important words. "I'm sorry, Catra," she recited clearly. "You didn't deserve what I did to you."

“... Oh.” Catra’s eyes were wider, surprised, as she… hadn’t expected that. At the time, Adora had given her nothing but excuses, and she would put the blame on Catra instead. ‘I just forgot I had volleyball practice for the fifth time this week’ or ‘stop being so needy for once.’ It was a change of pace, to see her willingly back down without a fight, so much that Catra was left almost speechless.

Maybe having Glimmer around for this wasn’t such a bad idea, after all. She knew how to get Adora to let go of her stubbornness, how to get Catra to actually open up… Catra wasn’t sure how it happened, but the more she would think about it, she realized how the sparkly, magical princess ended up being the person who understood her better than anyone else.

Catra looked at Adora’s eyes, and she could see the genuine intent behind her words. She was always awful at lying, anyways. Ugh. What they _don’t_ tell you about breakups is that the other person doesn’t just… stop being the person they are. Adora was still a good person. She still lit up a room with her presence. She was still warm-hearted. Still fun to be around. Still pretty. 

However, something definitely felt different now. The feelings were more dulled, but in a good way. They were still tender, but they were ready to say goodbye.

Glimmer could feel the warmth between them as the dust began to settle. In a way, she was happy to be there to support them. Since the beginning, she wanted to be on both teams, and now, she was. The way Catra looked at Adora... it was so obvious that she still loved her. Romantically or not, she needed Adora in her life in the same way Adora needed Catra, and now they could finally take the necessary steps to rebuild the bridge they burnt. Their faces said it all.

“I mean… I guess it’s fine, then,” Catra muttered. “I get it now. I didn’t like the person I was during the last few months. I was pathetic, I know, you don’t have to tell me.”

She paused. “Sorry. For being emotionally draining. Or whatever.”

Adora bit down on her lip again, this time with emotions of relief as the tension was severed upon hearing the words leave Catra's lips. After days of turmoil worried that she'd lose the two people she cared the most about, suddenly she had the chance to rectify her wrongdoings and be a better friend to those she loved. It was a bittersweet feeling, but one that she just had to bite down on and take into the days to come. Perhaps something they _all_ felt at this time.

She got up from her seat again, somewhat nervous as she took a step forward to the feline, watching her look up at her. "Come here," she said softly, holding a hand forward as an invitation to pull Catra up from her seat. Ugh, she was _still_ so enthralled by Catra's mannerisms, even now. The way she talked so uncharmingly was charming, and the bashfulness at every turn was never anything short of cute. Catra didn't just stop being Catra. Like, of _course_ Glimmer wanted a piece. Nobody understood that better than her.

Catra hesitated for only a moment. She grabbed Adora’s hand, and she was swiftly pulled forward, hitting Adora’s chest with an “oof!” Catra would have commented on how much the jock must have been working out, but she knew that it would go straight to her head.

She let out a laugh and hugged her back tightly. It didn’t feel as uncomfortable as she thought it would be. In fact, it was the opposite. It was full of a soft, warm love. It felt hopeful. They held each other for a few moments, savoring the embrace. Something was missing, though...

Catra looked down at Glimmer and held her hand out to her.

“Hey, get in here, Sparkles.”

Glimmer giggled as she teleported right up beside them and flung her arms around them both, burying her face wherever she could, being the shortest among them. It was an invigorating feeling as they all held each other close as things finally came to a happy conclusion. 

When they pulled away, Adora tossed a smile to both of them as they remained loosely linked. It was sweet, seeing them both smiling again. How could she possibly stay mad at these two? Furthermore, how could she suggest that they shouldn’t be happy with each other, either? She knew better than anyone how wonderful these girls were as individuals, _anyone_ could fall in love with them.  
  
“Again, I don’t… care that you’re together—honestly it’s cute,” Adora laughed as she without much effort pushed them together by their backs to tease them.

The princess was honestly a little speechless as all of her thoughts about Catra rose to the surface, beginning to blush a little as she was pushed up against the feline. That was the closest they’d been since they danced, face to face with her as she very nervously inhaled with ragged breath before her. Catra’s eyes were as gorgeous as ever and those lips looked irresistible, but now was _hardly_ the time to get wrapped up in obsession. 

“R-really?” Glimmer sputtered out, taking a step back but keeping a hand on Catra’s waist, looking to Adora as if she just… didn’t believe her. Because part of her didn’t, honestly.

The feline’s cheeks went red as they were pushed together, and she let out a shaky laugh. It was good to know that Adora hypothetically approved of them dating, at least, but Catra didn’t want to let herself fantasize about it too much. Doing that would just be setting herself up for heartbreak. It was probably better to let that ship sail away.

Catra watched the way Glimmer reacted to Adora’s comment with confusion. Did she think that they _weren’t_ cute together, or something? Sure, she didn’t have Glimmer’s glittering eyes, or her seductive curves, or her breathtakingly adorable smile—but damn, okay. If that was the case, good that they weren’t a thing, after all.

“Thanks, but...” Catra said, taking a step back and rubbing her neck, “We’re not dating.”

 _Right, we aren't,_ Glimmer told herself as she finally took her hand away from Catra. She nervously laughed it off to confirm it to Adora, reaching up to itch the back of her neck. Unfortunately, that was some of her body language that Adora was privy to. She _always_ did it when she was nervous. 

Adora simply smiled, not fully believing it given how Glimmer reacted in addition to Catra's uncertain delivery. Even if they weren't, there was still something new between them that she could learn to appreciate. "Hah, if you saaay so!" she teased.

Eventually, Glimmer called Bow to get the door unlocked. The girls joked amongst themselves while they waited to see if they wanted to pull anything on Bow in response to his deviousness, but couldn't think of anything fast enough. Soon enough, they all found their ways back to their dorms after some goofy conversations on the way through the campus. Adora and Glimmer continued to chat once they were back to catch up on other crap from the last few days, but it wasn't long until they found themselves at their respective desks to get some homework done.

The princess didn't get much done, feeling completely worn out from the conversation, but could at least say that she tried. While she worked, she kept her messenger tab open the whole time with Catra's name open. Hours passed and she said nothing, but eventually she couldn't resist getting in touch after thinking about her for so much of the evening, Adora's words repeating in her head ever since she heard them.

 **_Glimmer [9:18pm]  
_ ** 💕  
 _i'm happy we could talk today :)_

Catra, on the other hand, went straight for a nap when she returned to her dorm. A couple hours later, she woke up to over 20 apology messages from Scorpia, reiterating how she _had_ to do it, begging Catra not to hold it against her, and asking how it went. She sent back a few replies to let them know things were good. Really good. Surprisingly. Huh. Who knew that talking things out actually worked?

She spent the rest of the night working on homework. Yep, that’s right. Entrapta literally gasped at the sight, and she pestered Catra with questions to update her “cognitive activity report” with. The way she saw Catra’s lifestyle as a social experiment was weird and kinda concerning, buuut Catra was used to it by now.

Her concentration broke as a text came through, and she picked up her phone, leaning back into her desk chair. She smiled to herself. 

**_Catra [9:18pm]  
_ ** _same  
_ _thx for being chill_

Glimmer typed out some responses but kept deleting them. _always! want to— haha no problem! do you— mhm! tomorrow we should—_ Sigh. It all just sounded desperate. She knew that Catra wasn't interested but... it didn't stop her from feeling so captivated, undeniably still wanting her. She couldn't stop thinking about how much she wanted to kiss her again, to feel her hands all over her again, to laugh and dance and just... ugh.

 **_Glimmer [9:21pm]  
_ ** _hehe  
_ _anytime kitten_ ✨

And with that, she put her phone down and closed her computer. She teleported over to the bathroom to do her night routine before deciding to call it a night, a bit earlier than usual, but Adora agreed to it happily. They shared some banter from across the room once the lights were off, but it wasn't long until she could hear Adora's snoring. It was nice to be able to talk openly, and she could finally go to sleep happy again. Tomorrow was a new day.


	8. Shopping Spree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Classes resume as normal, but with reignited feelings and happiness. Things are good, but things between Glimmer and her mother were nothing short of frustrating as usual, causing quite the impulse decision.

Catra had woken up feeling like shit for so long, she almost forgot what it was like to not open her eyes and instantly dread the rest of the day. It was strange. Doing something other than staying inside her dorm all day actually sounded _appealing_ for once. Weird.

So, she ended up attending classes for the first time in weeks. The lectures still sucked, but she found ways to get through them. Her free moments were spent texting Glimmer, now that the air was cleared between them, and Catra had a giddy smile on her face for most of the day. It caused her to get a few wary looks, since usually her only expression during lectures were those of her resting bitch face, but she honestly didn't care.

She found herself texting Glimmer about every little thing, letting her know how her day was going or passing along a funny meme she found. It was nice to be able to do this again. Catra wasn’t sure how long it would take to get that to place with Adora. That wound still needed more time to heal, and neither of them wanted to force it. She could wait for it, though, knowing now that things would work out in the end.

While texting Glimmer, Catra found herself more hesitant to put in a flirty or teasing line, given the context of all that happened over the past week. She did it anyways, of course, but… she felt like their relationship had changed, even though she wasn’t quite sure how.

Mid-way through a review session, Catra pulled out her phone and unlocked it. She may or may not have still had Glimmer’s tits as her background picture. If she did, hypothetically speaking, it would be as a joke.

It had been so long since she went to one of these things that she forgot how slowly time went by. It was crazy how three hours feels like nothing when you're watching cute cat videos, while an hour of staring at math felt like an entire lifetime. She didn't know how people like Glimmer managed to do this constantly. At least she didn't have to put that much effort in; she just needed to pass.

Bored and losing focus, she sent a text to Glimmer.

 **_Catra [2:40pm]  
_ ** _guess what just happened in this review sess  
_ _nvm im telling u  
_ _the ta projected their screen and  
_ _straight up had erotic fanfic up in their tabs_

 **_Glimmer [2:42pm]  
_ ** _LOL for real???  
_ _omg. legends only  
_ _was it good tho?_ 👀

Catra had her bulky old laptop in front of her, and she typed the title of the alleged piece of fiction into a search engine.

 **_Catra [2:45pm]  
_ ** _i looked it up  
_ _kinda vanilla tbh_

 **_Glimmer [2:45pm]  
_ ** _rip_

Glimmer of course never skipped classes, and was as suspected, diligently taking notes and keeping up with her lectures. Well, the best she could. It was so exciting to text Catra again so openly, like she'd wanted all week. Believe it or not, she actually got one of the best sleeps in a long time, soundly resting through the night and waking up full of energy for the day. It was refreshing as hell.

Despite the positive developments, her feelings were still being prodded by texts from her Mom throughout the day. They never exactly stopped since Monday, and she just couldn't bring herself to answer back. It was all the same blunt unawareness in each of the message previews. Blah blah, consequences this, Catra that, school is the only thing that matters, I don't care about what you want, yadda yadda. It was tiring as hell, but Glimmer was extremely grateful that Catra could distract her.

_Ding!_

**_Momma [now]  
_ ** _Don't make me take away your..._

 _Ugh, for real? Now you're threatening me? Fuck off,_ Glimmer thought as she saw the banner preview appear at the top of her screen. She had been passive aggressively texting her all week to call her or go see her to finish their conversation, but Glimmer had nothing to say. Not until she apologized, and definitely not until she stopped thinking so irrationally and... controlling. But it was weird to see this message, as she's never been punished per se, with anything material. Groundings, sure, but never anything past that. Whatever, the threat felt empty anyway.

 **_Catra [2:47pm]  
_ ** _is it just me or is today extra slow_

 **_Glimmer [2:47pm]  
_ ** _yea i hear you lol  
_ _i still have another class after this one but i reaaally don't wanna go haha_

 **_Catra [2:48pm]  
_ ** _ye i might ditch the rest of this review  
_ _its 2 nice outside to go to waste  
_ _it rlly makes me miss my bike, today would be perfect for a ride_

 **_Glimmer [2:48pm]  
_ ** _fuck it really is!!! SO nice out today  
_ _would be a perfect day for it if you still had it :(_

Glimmer completely forgot that Catra used to ride a motorcycle, recalling that she got into an accident with it last semester that resulted in it getting pretty much ripped apart. Glimmer's never ridden on it, or any bike for that matter. Never needed to, what with having a car and all, but she was always curious to see what Catra loved about it so much. _Ding!_

 **_Momma [now]  
_ ** _You think I wouldn't do it, but I'm not worr..._

 _You're right, mom. You wouldn't, and you won't. You're all talk,_ Glimmer continued to think to herself as her mother's incessant texts barraged her. Every time she was grounded, her mom would say that she 'thought about' taking her devices or keys away, but never did. Even when she used her Mom's card to order something online without asking, there were no consequences. It honestly was probably part of why she was so willing to go against the grain after being such a 'good girl' for so long.

 _Hmm, I wonder,_ Glimmer thought, deviously pairing the two trains of texts together, but quickly dismissing them. There was a part of her that wanted to impulsively test her mother's true limits, but it was just not worth pushing it.

 **_Catra [2:50pm]  
_ ** _wait i never took u on it did i?_

It really was a bummer that they hadn’t gone before, Catra thought. There was nothing quite so exhilarating yet relaxing as riding a bike down the highway. Plus, she liked the edgy image that came with it, admittedly. She had taken Scorpia and Adora out on it plenty of times, but maybe there had never been a chance to take Glimmer. Granted, a couple of years ago, Catra thought Glimmer wouldn’t be that into it, back when she still saw Glimmer as only prissy.

The realization made Catra wonder about what else they had missed out on doing together. _That_ realization made her further wonder why she cared so much about it at all. It’s not like she had to experience _everything_ with Glimmer. She wanted to, though. Was that weird? Hm...

 **_Glimmer [2:50pm]  
_ ** _sadly no! :(_

 **_Catra [2:51pm]  
_ ** _my b, if i save up for a new one i will  
_ _its sick youll love it_

 _Ugh_ , Glimmer groaned somewhat audibly in class, garnering a couple looks from her classmates. That sounded so fun, feeling the wind in your hair and against your sleeves. At least, that's what she imagined it feeling like. Now she wished that she did still have the bike, and was getting somewhat excited at the thought of whenever they would get to do it. Not to mention the thought of getting to sit so intimately with Catra like tha-

_Ding!_

**_Momma [now]  
_ ** _We'll discuss your punishment over the weekend..._

As she was typing out her reply to Catra, she read the banner at the top of her screen, somewhat aggressively swiping it away so that she didn't have to look at it anymore. This was technically supposed to be her 'home' weekend, but there was just absolutely no way she was fulfilling that, not with how things were right now. There was no way she was going to willingly subject herself to that.

Glimmer backspaced all of her words to Catra in favor of opening up her browser to look some things up, the heat she felt from her mother's words in the driver's seat. _Hmmm_ , Glimmer continued to ponder, but not for long. She was ready to test her limits, checking her purse to see if she still had it, and she did.

—

A few hours later, Catra sat in her dorm, frowning at her phone. Throughout the day, Glimmer’s texts had been consistent, and even during her classes, she didn’t take more than twenty minutes to reply. After her last one ended, Catra sent a text asking her what her plans for the rest of the day were-- then, nothing.

Catra groaned as she erased the follow up message she had typed out, and she went back to trying to focus on studying her course material. She was not going to double-text Glimmer as if she had some obsessive, infatuated crush on her. Catra had learned her lesson about being overly clingy, and she didn’t want to fall back into that pitiable state again. She wasn’t even _dating_ Glimmer, so why the hell was she acting like this?!

She was just happy about being on good terms again, she decided. Sure, she thought Glimmer was still really hot; it’s not like that attraction vanished like it was never there. That would be unrealistic. But at this point, even crossing into the friends-with-benefits territory would probably be a bad idea, and she didn't want to take the risk, no matter how tempting it sounded. _Just friends_ , Catra reminded herself.

Just as she decided that she didn't care whether Glimmer texted her or not, her phone went off with a _ding!_

 **_Glimmer [4:32pm]  
_ ** _hey sorry for not responding right away omg_

Glimmer stood outside the dorms, looking up towards Catra's window as she twirled a set of keys on her finger, antsy to get this text message to her. She carefully considered which emoji would work the best, not wanting to be too obviously wanting or anything. But the others just... didn't have the same energy. Fuck it, she was already flooring it, right?

 **_Glimmer [4:32pm]  
_ ** _look out your window, kitten_ 💋

Catra raised an eyebrow at the text. She didn't know why Glimmer didn't just walk up the stairs to chat with her—or, you know, teleport—but ok. She'd play along. Catra went over to the window and slid it open, not sure what to expect.

“Hey, Sparkles,” she called out, leaning out of the screenless window. Glimmer was standing below, peace sign held up and a mischievous grin spread across her face, and beside of her—

Catra's jaw dropped.

Next to the princess stood an impressive-looking motorcycle, dark and sleek, maybe even brand new. From the princess’s beaming expression, Catra thought it must be Glimmer’s. All of the talk earlier must have convinced Glimmer to get one herself.

“... You got a new ride?” Catra asked incredulously.

Glimmer couldn't help but let out a booming laugh, somehow completely caught off guard by Catra's apparent obliviousness. _Yeah, Catra. Me and my class 4 license. That I totally have. Yup,_ Glimmer jokingly thought to herself.

She knew that using magic was largely prohibited in public spaces, but this was a special occasion. _Fwsh!_ Suddenly, the princess disappeared before Catra's eyes a blink of radiant purple light, its silhouette still discernible even in the sun. The feline could immediately feel her shoulders being grasped tight before she could even make a sound. _Fwsh!_ And before Catra knew it, she was in the parking lot, exactly where Glimmer was standing.

The princess kept one of her hands on Catra's shoulder so that she wouldn't feel completely disoriented, then flung herself around on her side with one arm over her back, leaning against her as they stood parallel in front of the mechanical horse. She held the keys in front of both of their faces, jingling them just a little before letting them drop, knowing that Catra's reflexes wouldn't let them crash to the pavement.

"Not quite," she finally responded, sounding as suave as she could possibly muster. "But you oughta take me out for a spin on _yours."_

Catra stared into the keys that fell into her instinctively outstretched hand, gaping. The sudden teleportation left Catra feeling dizzy and filled her head full of static, and she just barely managed to process what Glimmer was implying.

“... Holy shit,” she muttered. Was Glimmer for real? There wasn’t anything to suggest that this was some sort of prank, right? Catra let out a screech of delight as she leapt onto Glimmer, throwing her arms around her and pulling her close.

Glimmer laughed so heartily as she welcomed Catra's embrace, returning it in full with a tight hug of her own. _Ahhh, yes,_ Glimmer thought. This was exactly what she was yearning for, and it felt so damn good. The ecstasy from the feline completely rubbed off on her, making her feel so warm inside at the reception of her gift. Not to mention that she got to take in Catra's scent when they got so close, a rather unexpectedly comforting feeling that reminded her of their fun.

Before she could hold the embrace for long, Catra took a quick step back, asking, “Wait. Is it, uh, morally wrong of me to accept something like this?”

"Well, it would make me sad if you _didn't_ accept it, so... I insist," Glimmer said with her eyebrows raised. When they let go of each other, she reached over to the side that the helmets hung from, naturally buying a matching black with red one for Catra, and a purple with yellow helmet for herself. She lucked out with getting a helmet that had room for Catra's ears that matched the bike so nicely. It was a red sports bike with black trim, so the black helmet with red stripes felt fitting.

She extended it to Catra as she herself went to get up on top of it, but realized, uh... she didn't know how to get up on it. Suddenly there was a brick missing in that wall of rage-filled confidence as she puzzledly looked back to Catra.

Well, Catra certainly didn’t need to be told twice. She was smiling so hard she thought she might pull a facial muscle. Her fingers brushed against the smooth, steel frame, and she couldn’t believe this was real. She still had questions—firstly, why? Secondly, where did she even get this much money? Catra decided she could ask later, because she was way too eager to get this baby going to think about anything else. Before that, though...

Catra took the helmet Glimmer gave her and set it down on the seat temporarily. She turned to the princess, pressed a hand against her cheek, and brought her lips to hers.

It was a tender, sweet kiss, compared to some of their other ones. It was less fierce, but not necessarily less passionate, just in a softer and affectionate way. Catra held the kiss for a couple moments, pressing into it, feeling the fire in the gut sparking and yearning for more, but she pulled away.

Glimmer was so caught up in watching Catra's excitement that she was not expecting this at all. She muffledly grunted against Catra, but it was short-lived as her mind sank into the loving feeling of those warm lips. It was everything that could possibly be good in the world, packed into those several long seconds.

“As a thank you,” Catra teased. 

Glimmer was left speechless, completely red as her eyes erratically darted between both of Catra's colourful iris', absolutely lost in their beauty as she reconnected with the situation. She blinked a couple times as she finally released her stilled breath, grinning wide, but not embarrassed to look so smitten in front of her for a change.

Catra laughed as she started to get onto the bike, finally putting on the helmet, kicking out the kickstand, and grabbing onto the handlebars. Once mounted and stable, she told Glimmer, “Put your foot on that peg and swing your leg over.”

"G-got it!" Glimmer stammered, finally recalibrated and ready to ride. She meticulously tucked her hair to the side before putting on the helmet, then did precisely as Catra told her. She swung her leg up and over as she carefully placed her first foot against the pegs, then sidled right up against Catra's back. She got comfy, wrapping her arms loosely around Catra's waist as her thighs hugged the feline's hips, then reached her head up and over one of her shoulders, resting her chin on it

"Okay! I'm ready!" she said, suddenly feeling a little nervous to introduce this new experience, now realizing what exactly was about to happen. She'd never been on a motorcycle before, and it definitely felt scary. But Catra was there, so it was fine.

“Great, hold on,” Catra told her.

 _Vrrrrrrrrr!_ Catra felt absolute elation at the satisfying sound of the motorcycle cranking up, and she was practically over the moon with excitement. They took off smoothly, meandering through the parking lot, then finally drove out onto the streets.

Damn, she really missed this. There was something so comforting and so freeing about it all, and feeling Glimmer pressed against her back made it even more so. The ride was fairly chill, which was probably the best for Glimmer’s first time, and Catra drove them past campus and into town, riding down the main stretch of stores and other businesses.

This experience was so new for Glimmer, in both an exciting and terrifying way. It took her a long time to get over her car-driving nerves and this was very reminiscent of those feelings in a way. Naturally, it was way better since she could clutch onto her crush so tightly as she ripped through the streets. It started off very relaxing, but as they picked up speed it felt a lot scarier, eventually feeling overwhelmed despite doubly feeling thrilled at how it felt.

Catra felt Glimmer tap on her shoulder, and she took it as a sign to stop. She parked the bike on the side of the street, slipped off her helmet and shook her hair out. “Need a break?” she asked, grinning back at her.

Glimmer couldn't help but laugh a little uncontrollably once they had rolled to a stop, taking off her own helmet and running a hand through her now static-riled hair. She watched as Catra took hers off so gracefully, flicking her head once and letting her locks fall into place. It was mesmerising, and it didn't do Glimmer any favors when Catra turned that salacious smirk over her shoulder to talk to her. There was no longer any doubt in her mind—that alone made this whole gamble worth it.

"Heh, yeah! Just a little one," she responded, letting the adrenaline filter out through elongated breaths. She continued to giggle as she felt the high on her body ride out, but fell forward against the feline and embraced her tight.

“Sure thing,” Catra agreed.

"It's fun! Scary, but fun," Glimmer explained, delivering the softest of smooches against the back of Catra's shoulder. It probably didn't feel like much through her jacket, but still. She was just so excited and in such a great mood that she couldn't resist sharing more affection. Once Catra cut the engine, Glimmer reverse-engineered her directions to get on and hopped off onto the shade-sheltered boulevard that Catra had parked beside.

Catra waited for Glimmer to hop off before doing so herself. At the sight of her messy hair, Catra stifled a laugh. “Pfft—hold on a sec,” she instructed, as she reached forward and ran her fingers through Glimmer’s pastel locks, smoothing them out. Once it looked less frizzy, her hand absentmindedly moved down to brush against Glimmer's cheek— only to be shocked by the static, to which she jerked her hand back.

"Er, sorry," the feline muttered, and she averted her eyes and looked at their surroundings, instead.

Glimmer giggled ever sweetly as the feline bashfully looked away, charmed by her compassion and awkwardness—a dangerously adorable combination of qualities to have. Glimmer slung the helmet around one of the handles and took both hands to her hair to really sort it out and make it look nice again, framing her face to Catra with a quick smile completely out of habit.

The area that they stopped in was a good place for a break, if they wanted to do something fun for a detour. Within eye's view was an ice cream place, a bookstore, even a piercing and tattoo parlor. Actually, Catra went there during their freshmen orientation to get “pu$$y” tattooed on her inner lip, which everyone absolutely hated, even though she thought it was hilarious. Fortunately, it faded away within a year.

Catra gestured to the building and joked to Glimmer, “Now that you’re living the badass biker life, all you need is a tattoo.” Despite saying so, she herself didn’t have any permanent ones. She wasn't opposed to the idea; so far there hadn't been any designs that stuck out to her.

"Hah! Just another bullet on the list of all the things my mom has said no to," Glimmer elaborated, rolling her eyes at the memories of her asking to get a tattoo on her wrist. She'd always wanted something astronomy related or floral, something that catered to both her aesthetics and personal interests. But why would she ever be allowed to do something fun for herself?

“... Up for a dare?” Catra challenged her, with a wicked grin.

Glimmer questionably smirked in response to Catra's query, folding her arms and slouching one hip to the side somewhat dramatically. "Spit it out, Kitten," she chuckled, probably not ready for whatever nonsense Catra was about to suggest they do.

“I think you can guess,” Catra snickered. She grabbed Glimmer’s hand as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world, and she tugged her along excitedly.

“C’mon, let’s see if they do walk-ins,” she suggested, “Your mom doesn’t have to find out-- unless you want her to."

This was just the right amount of fuck-you energy for Glimmer to just unabashedly say yes. She’d always wanted something small, and honestly? Buying this motorcycle with her Mom’s credit card was probably going to overshadow a small wrist tattoo, so now was as good a time as any. Glimmer happily let herself get tugged around, hurrying her walk to match Catra’s speed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Milly_Blank for the inspiration re: motorcycle in this chapter!!! We've been planning this for so long LOL


	9. Rebound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer and Catra impulsively decide to get tattoos before riding out to enjoy the rest of the evening by the waterside, where Glimmer finally finds the right words to share to Catra.

_She’s in such a good mood,_ Glimmer thought as she reveled in the grip tight around her fingers. Granted, she did just get a several thousand dollar bike for free completely unprompted, so maybe it was a no-brainer, but she obviously hoped that she was also a part of that happiness. I mean, the girl kissed her so passionately as thanks, after all. Perhaps today _was_ a good day to confess her feelings. Maaaybe not at the tattoo shop though.

When they arrived, it was completely dead. They were greeted by another magicat by his lonesome, almost somewhat annoyed-looking by the fact that he had to get up and work. Nonetheless, the lad shook it off and the girls made their requests. Catra’s imagination knew no bounds, detailing elaborate designs for Glimmer to get while remaining completely undecided on one for herself. The princess on the other hand knew exactly what she wanted, pulling up a picture of a contour line drawing of a crescent moon adorned with moonflower petals and sparkles. 

“What do you think of this, Catra?” she said, shuffling over to the feline in front of the desk and resting a hand atop her shoulder, holding her phone up with the other. “On the inner wrist.”

“Hmmm,” Catra hummed as she studied the image. “I don’t know, I still think a broken heart with ‘fuck you mom’ in the middle would be better, but… I like it. It’s cute. It fits you.”

She was a step away from saying “cute, like you,” but somewhere the wiring of her brain said that one was a no-go, too cheesy and embarrassing.

To be honest, Catra had no idea what she was going to get. She always thought that tattoos full of “deep meaning” were dumb and pretentious. Maybe if she had gotten one in high school, her thoughts would have been different, and she would have gotten some edgy song lyrics on her arm or something—but she was well past that phase, thankfully.

She scrolled for a while on her own phone, waiting for something to catch her eyes, until one caused her to let out a chuckle. It was an illustration of a flower with several layers of delicate-looking pink petals, and the center of it was very obviously meant to mimic lady bits. A pussyflower, if you will. As a tattoo, it was subtle enough for its imagery to not be fully noticeable from a distance, but still recognizable when you looked closely at it.

"Too gay?" she asked Glimmer for her opinion. 

Glimmer let out a hearty chuckle before turning her face directly to Catra. "You? Too gay?" she joked, sneaking a subtle flirtatious wink in before nodding. "Get it."

She turned back to the tattoo artist and affirmed her own personal selection, airdropping the reference to the fellow's device and pulling out her own credit card. This one didn't need to be on Mom's receipts, she decided. "Oh, and charge me for hers, too," she added as he was chalking it up.

Catra was about to offer to pay, but Glimmer beat her to it. Those tattoos weren’t coming cheap, at least a hundred bucks each, and after being gifted such an expensive gift, Catra could feel the guilt setting in. She noticed that was happening more often these days, for some reason.

Wow, she was doing this, wasn't she? Glimmer had been wanting a tattoo for so long so it didn't feel completely like an impulse decision, but she definitely wouldn't have acted on anything if Catra wasn't with her. That said, it didn't mitigate the sudden onslaught of nerves regarding how it was going to go.

She tapped on Catra as she was waiting for her card to go through, then quietly spoke. "Hey, how like... does it hurt a lot?" she asked, even though she knew Catra never got any permanent ones.

“It was the worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life,” Catra said solemnly, only to sputter into laughter a moment later. “Juuust kidding, Sparkles. It hurts, but you’ll be able to handle it, trust me.”

Catra's words struck a nerve at first, sending a shiver of worry through her body, but thankfully it was in jest. Classic Catra. She was right—she _could_ handle it. Glimmer smiled and nodded, finally taking her card back. She realized it probably looked a little weird for her to just drop gift after gift, but it just felt nice to shower Catra in treats. Besides, she technically only bought her _this_ one, anyway.

Since the parlor was so empty, it only took a few minutes for the magicat artist to head to the back, set everything up, then lead them into the room where the deed would be done. Catra slipped off her jacket and hopped up on the chair first, rolling up her shirt sleeve.

Glimmer took her jacket from her and held it over her arm, taking a seat in an adjacent stool. There was one on each side, which worked out so that the artist could work on the other side. She admired Catra's arms, trailing her eyes across them as Catra pointed out to the tattoo artist where she wanted it.

"Are you nervous?" Glimmer asked, unwittingly reaching her hand towards Catra's free arm and grazing it with her fingertips.

“Me? Never,” Catra answered. As she said so, however, she grabbed Glimmer’s hand and interlocked their fingers, and she showed no sign of letting go. Not something a nervous person would do at all.

The tattoo artist got to work, laying out the yonic floral outline on Catra's upper arm and readying the tattoo gun. Catra had heard that the arm area tended to be less painful than others, but she still winced as the needle made contact with her skin, squeezing onto Glimmer's hand a little tighter.

Glimmer watched the twisting expressions unfold on Catra's face as the needle got to work. It was somewhat mesmerising to watch at first, watching it bob up and down and seeing Catra's arm ripple slightly. Though it was hard to focus on with the ever tightening grasp from Catra, Glimmer was happy to reciprocate.

She looked up to Catra, whose teeth were clenched amidst the whole thing. She even bit down on her lip at one point which Glimmer couldn't help but gawk at. Now was of _course_ not the time to get riled up, but when your friend is just so naturally hot, how can you not?

"It's, uh, actually not that bad," Catra assured her. It’s true; it wasn't as bad as she expected it to be. Her lip tattoo definitely hurt more, from what she could remember. Nevertheless, she kept her hand bound tightly to Glimmer's, not ready to lose the comfort of it.

"You're doing great!" Glimmer said sincerely, and gently. She tightened her own grip back against her to reassure her, even though it was clear that she was doing just fine. Catra was strong—way stronger than Glimmer could ever aspire to be, it was no surprise that this was so natural to her.

The pain dulled once Catra was able to acclimate to it, though the multi-needled-coloring of the petals was a bit rough. The time passed quickly, and before she knew it, everything was finished. The artists held up a mirror to let her get a full look at the new ink. The skin was swollen and puffy, but the pink color looked nice against Catra’s skin, and the lines were smooth and aesthetic.

"Oooh!" Glimmer said with awe as she got a good look. It was vulgar as hell, but damn if it didn't double down as beautiful. The colours popped very vibrantly against the tone of Catra's arms and the linework was not at all crooked. She was quite impressed, and now way more eager to see how hers would turn out.

“Good job on the folds,” Catra commented, playing up the vulgarity of it all.

“They’re my speciality,” the artist replied dryly, and Catra couldn’t help but wonder if sarcasm and Magicats went hand in hand. The tattoo was bandaged up for protection, and while the artist left to replace their supplies, Catra got out of the chair and stretched.

“You’re up, Sparkles,” the feline said. “It’s not too late to get a matching one with me.”

The princess laughed at Catra's suggestion to get the same one, but dismissed it as she took a deep breath, whispering an 'okay' before she blinked forward in her step, reappearing comfortably in the chair. _Oh god, is this really happening?_ Glimmer couldn't help but take another sharp inhale as she tried to gather herself, the anticipation getting to her.

She looked to Catra somewhat suddenly, who was already looking at her with her usual cheeky smile. Her eyes darted down to their hands, and she turned hers around on its back and flayed her fingers, inviting Catra's hand to hers to reconnect with that comfort.

Catra took Glimmer's hand, happy to reciprocate. It felt kind of special, being able to witness so many of Glimmer’s “first times” today. Catra took her on her first motorcycle ride, convinced her to get her first tattoo... They might as well go skydiving or some other crazy shit while they were at it. The momentum was high, why not keep it going?

"You got this," Catra told her nervous companion, using her other hand to rub Glimmer's tensed shoulder.

The grumpy magicat came back with new, sterilized needles and took a seat once more. The repeated the same steps, and they began the work unceremoniously, tracing the lunar shape now faintly on Glimmer's wrist.

Glimmer hissed at the first few jabs, breathing somewhat crassly against her teeth as her grip on Catra surely felt suffocating with how tight she was holding her at first. Like she expected, however, she was able to get used to the stinging feeling after a couple minutes and her grip loosened, but her breaths were still heavier than normal.

"S-sorry," she sputtered out, looking down to Catra's hand, and back up to her with a bashful smile.

Catra’s hand nearly went numb at the herculean grip, but she let Glimmer hold on as long as she needed. While waiting for Glimmer’s initial pain to subside, her mind wandered, the tight grip couldn’t help but to remind her of the way their hands used to grab desperately at each other, fingers grasping for smooth flesh to rub against, soft hair to pull, curves to stroke--

"Uh. Oh um. Yes. I mean, it's cool," Catra responded, though she barely caught onto what Glimmer had said. "It’s looking good," she followed up as she glanced at the nearly finished tattoo, trying to move the focus away from her before anyone noticed how red her face had gotten.

But Glimmer did notice, and it was adorable as hell. If Catra was still paying attention to her, she'd notice that she was barely making a sound as a wave of euphoria took over. It was so sweet to see that smile every time, if not always sweeter than the last. Pink cheeks only made it even cuter.

The rest of the work ran like clockwork. She was only getting the one ink done: black. Smooth lines with sharp points with the odd shape filled in to create some contrast. The design was elegant and simple but still had a lot of character true to Glimmer infused in it, and it was turning out awesome.

Their hands remained intertwined as the magicat finished up the details before finally pulling away and exclaiming that it was all done, and that he was proud of it. When she got a good look, she was absolutely astounded and at a bit of a loss for words. She showed it off to Catra and chuckled in disbelief at it turning out so well. It was _precisely_ what she envisioned, and now she could carry it—and a memory of today—with her for good.

She got it bandaged up properly so that it wouldn't swell or bleed, carefully pulling her sleeve back overtop of it. Of course, she couldn't help immediately prodding it to gauge just _how_ much it hurt, and instantly regretted it. It stung a lot, with it so fresh and all. Though it wasn't completely unbearable in the event that it was touched by accident. Of course, why would she think that? It's not like she wanted to get touched or anything. Nope.

"Well, Kitten?" she said with wonder, sliding her arm underneath Catra's as they made their exit from the tattoo parlour. When they were met with the warm summer's air, dusk had fallen, lightning up the sky with a fiery orange hue. Glimmer didn't care what they did, all she knew was that she wanted to keep doing... whatever this was. For as long as she could.

“I know a place,” Catra joked. “Up for another ride?”

Glimmer agreed, and once they both mounted the bike, she took off, deciding to take them on the scenic route. Since they were already this far out, it wouldn’t hurt to go a little further. It would be a shame to let the sunset go to waste, especially on such a memorable day. Back when she had her old bike, she would ride around on days when she was overly stressed or emotional, usually on one road in particular.

They soon made their way to her to-go riding location. The next turn put them onto a two-lane highway, where the road ran along the coastline, overlooking the rocky beach. With the sunset to the left of them, it was a breathtaking view. Catra picked up the speed, throwing back a thumbs up to check with Glimmer.

 _Holy shit, this is so fast_ , Glimmer thought as the wind tore against them on the long narrow highway. When Catra signaled to her, she signaled back with a thumbs up of her own so that she knew not to stop just yet. It was unlike anything else she’d ever done and it was a marvelous feeling of excitement, overflowing enough to overtake any nerves she used to have. She clutched onto the feline tight behind her, sinking her hands into her leather jacket’s pockets and resting her head against her back, watching the trees whip by as she gazed upon the extraordinary sights. This was the best.

There it was, the adrenaline Catra had been searching for. The wind roared around them as they sped down the long stretch highway, and Catra felt ethereal. It felt like flying, or as close to it as someone could ever get without leaving the ground. Who needed magic when something like this was possible? The bike rode so smoothly, and there was a strange comfort that was mixed in with the exhilaration. She couldn’t imagine a better feeling than this, and being able to share the moment with Glimmer made it all the more wonderful.

Soon Catra took an exit, which led them closer to the waterfront. It was a popular spot, one that many college students liked to flock on the weekends. On a Thursday night like this, though, it was almost empty, with just a couple of families in the distance. She came to a stop and beamed back at Glimmer after she removed her helmet, waiting to hear what she thought of the whole experience.

There were a few moments where the princess felt dazed, reconnecting her feet to the ground after being ridden with adrenaline. Her body couldn’t help but release a fit of giggles as she descended from that high, twirling a couple times as she took off her own helmet and shook her hair out. It was frizzy as hell all over again, but she didn’t care enough to fix it right away this time. She slung the helmet over the handlebars and took a few steps out against the boardwalk before turning around to Catra, struck by her gaze and smiling right back.

“That was _sooo_ fun, oh my god,” Glimmer exclaimed, taking those few steps right back to Catra, not wasting any time to get in close. It just felt natural to be so affectionate, reaching her hand out to Catra’s, seemingly in tandem as they drew nearer to each other. 

Catra laughed, entertained at how giddy Glimmer had become. “Glad you liked it,” she said as she also dismounted. As Glimmer walked over, Catra’s hand instinctively reached out, and it slid into Glimmer’s naturally, as if it belonged there. All the hand-holding during their tattoo session must have bonded their limbs together somehow; now she never wanted to let go.

“We can grab a spot to watch the rest of the sunset?” Catra suggested as they began walking along. The sky was darkening by the minute, but it would be nice to have those last moments in peace, a chill end to their wild day.

“That sounds great!” Glimmer said excitedly tugging on Catra’s arm, gesturing to a tree near the water that looked like it had a comfortable enough bed of grass to sit on compared to some of the other rough-looking areas. The sight was beautiful at first glance, but as with any college-adjacent nice thing, has seen its fair share of use, what with the odd beer bottle or solo cup kicking around.

The girls drew near to the clearing as the sound of water pattering against the shoreline grew louder. As the sun set, the shimmering surface of the water was further tinted by its orange hue, reflecting right up into their eyes, but not blindingly so. It was so sparkly and radiant, it’s hard to believe that this was just another one of nature’s paintings.

Glimmer was so awestruck that she couldn’t say anything, but that didn’t mean her mind wasn’t rampant with thoughts of the day, and of Catra. _This is the perfect place and time after such an amazing day_ , she thought to herself as she considered the words she would say to confess her feelings. The butterflies flew circles in her as her breaths drew shorter. Without realizing, she found that she had stopped looking at the sunset—well, the real one. She was looking at the _other_ most beautiful thing, and she was leaning up against the tree with a big smile on her face overlooking the water.

She took a step over to the feline, and with her speech suddenly a little shaky said, “Hey, umm.” Yikes, this was _way_ harder than she anticipated, no matter how much she thought she had prepared. Her hand reached for Catra’s as she took yet another step closer, their feet practically touching as she stood less than a foot away from her. “Uhhh,” she continued, getting lost in Catra’s eyes and forgetting what words even were. _Fuck, you’re so gorgeous._

A blush spread over Catra’s face as the space between them shortened. Their hands clasped together once more, though it felt more tentative than before, like the gesture was asking something. Was that it? Was Glimmer trying to ask her something? If she wanted to leave, she wouldn't be acting so weirdly about it. If she wanted to make out, she would have just initiated that already; she didn’t have to ask. What was it, then? There was something other than lust hanging between them, something more serious and sincere, and it almost frightened Catra to think about. Almost.

The sky was softening now, and the violet hues inched their way into the mixture of colors. The way the fading light fell across Glimmer’s face made Catra’s chest swell. Glimmer looked like she belonged there, like she could melt into the background, like all of nature was the painting's backdrop and she was the subject. She was just so _pretty_ , and Catra couldn't look away, even if she wanted to. She glanced down at Glimmer's lips for a quick moment before meeting her eyes again.

“Uh… what’s up?” the feline managed to reply, but her voice came out a whisper. She didn’t mean for it to.

God, her tone _really_ didn’t help Glimmer’s case and she had to just face the reality of obsession—the way she spoke, how tender her hands felt on hers, the way her eyes captivated her with just a glance—she wanted all of it so badly for herself, and in this moment, it couldn’t be more true. She has never felt this way about a person like she does now about Catra.

Glimmer subconsciously shifted her body closer towards Catra, their chests barely touching as Glimmer’s other hand rose up tenderly against Catra’s arm to her shoulder. She pinned her harder against the soft bark of the tree, eyes still affixed to Catra’s as her fingers wandered up to the feline’s cheek after a few moments.

“I…” she started, unable to keep herself from floating into her own world as that beautiful face stood so tantalizingly close. Finally, she grounded herself and smiled wide with the rosiest cheeks Catra had possibly ever seen, and finally, she said it.

“I-I love you, Catra,” she said, eliciting the softest laughter as her eyes started to water ever slightly, circling her soft thumb against the feline’s face in gentle circles. Her body was now fully up against Catra’s, smushing her against the tree with her plump form, wanting to be as close as possible in this moment as she opened her heart up.

Catra was left speechless. _Holy_ shit, was this real? She couldn’t believe it. Glimmer? Loved _her?_ Even though she just heard her say it, she was still having trouble processing it.

 _Glimmer. Glimmer loved her._ The happiness burst like a balloon in her gut, and the warmth rushed throughout every inch of her body. Along with the elation she felt, so many other emotions hit her at once. Some confusion. Some fear. But mostly, there was longing. Her arms wrapped around Glimmer, pulling her in even closer. There was hardly anything between them, only rapidly beating hearts and shaky breaths. This moment felt so right, so perfect. It was like after all this time, maybe this was where they were meant to be.

“Glimmer…” Catra murmured, saying her name so, so delicately, as if it were glass that might break if she spoke too loudly. Her arm moved upwards, and she took Glimmer’s hand in hers, the one that had been resting along her cheek. Catra turned it and kissed Glimmer’s palm, lingering there for a moment.

She then brought her face closer to Glimmer's, tilted her head, and stopped right before they would kiss. "Glimmer," she purred once more, right against her lips.

Their lips finally pressed together, and Catra felt like she might explode. She held Glimmer as tightly as she could and kissed her, over and over and over again, each kiss more aching and yearning than the last. Catra's tongue flickered against Glimmer's, her teeth nipping occasionally at her lip, every kiss too anxious and yearning to stay still for too long, only wanting to hold onto the feeling forever.

 _Fuck._ Glimmer couldn’t stop, there were no circumstances that could present themselves that would break her away from those succulent, tender lips of Catra’s. It was frantic how many times in rapid succession she kissed her, feeling desperate to keep that taste so close to her, and her body even closer. Without even thinking, she was pushing herself up against the feline, interlocking their legs and somewhat straddling her thigh as she grasped onto the hair behind her ears and pulled her further into this deep kissing fantasy.

She broke away just for a _second_ to catch her breath, erratically breathing in before diving right back in, a bellowing moan traversing her body and against Catra’s with full force. Her other hand couldn’t help but wander down to the feline’s chest, clutching onto what she could to ride this adrenaline to its peak. Glimmer could not get enough of her and wanted to just rip all of her clothes off right here, right now, and show her what for. 

Her tongue glided effortlessly between Catra’s eager lips, needy to indulge in what she’s wanted all week—the ferocity and passion that she fell so hard for. It was nothing short of thrilling, each passing second causing her to just continue to _want_.

Catra hands slid down to Glimmer’s plump butt, where she grabbed eagerly for handfuls of soft, bouncy flesh. Her own thigh pressed hard in between Glimmer’s, the lower half of her body aching for attention as well. The princess’s kisses reminded her of spicy candy, sweet but mouth-puckering with its heat, leaving behind a dusting of cinnamon that trickled down her body, warming it from the inside out. Most of all, they were so, so addicting.

Eventually, Glimmer had to break apart again, but this time holding Catra’s face before her as she looked far into her eyes. _“Catra,”_ she whispered aggressively, her gaze darting between both of her multicolored eyes as she fumbled to find the words to tell her how much she wanted her.

By the time they broke apart, Catra was a breathy and dizzy mess, lips slightly more swollen and red. The giddy smile that she was left with was as sweet as candied ginger, and she whispered out a breathy, “Hey.”

She didn’t quite have the words to say yet, either, but she hoped that Glimmer wasn’t mad about it. As much as her body yearned for Glimmer’s, her mind was still muddled with confusion, and she didn’t want to say something only to later realize she was just caught up in the moment. That wouldn't be fair. As elated as she was, Catra knew she needed more time to process it all. Until then, though... no harm in letting the body have what it wanted, right?

Catra bumped their foreheads together, a low purr rumbling from her chest. "... It's getting dark," she observed, her voice still hushed. "Do you want to head back?"

Glimmer reeled herself back to reality as she processed Catra’s question. She was so lost in those wonderful feelings that she completely let go of her surroundings and time of day, not even realizing the sun had set without her. She let go of all the breath she was involuntarily holding in, its warmth caressing Catra’s neck as she descended back down to the soles of her feet—she didn’t realize she was on her tip-toes, either. 

“Right,” she started, leaning her head against Catra’s for another moment before finally lifting herself up from against her and back a step, but still tethered by their arms. No, she wouldn’t dare fully let go right now. “Yes, let’s!” she responded eagerly, chipper as ever as she wiped her sopping lips with her sleeve, and still kind of giddy with loose giggles strewn into her speech.

Although it was practically everything she was hungry for, she still didn’t get a direct answer or response from Catra. She confessed, and then they made out like crazy. That had to be a good sign, right? In any case, Glimmer thought it best to not press the topic again today, but that wasn’t to say that things like this couldn’t still continue on into the night.

Glimmer reluctantly let go of Catra’s hands as they approached the bike, reaching for her helmet and getting it on snugly, then waiting for Catra to get on so that she could follow suit. “Your place?” she asked somewhat forwardly as she watched Catra get her own helmet on.

“Oh, um, yeah. Sure,” Catra agreed, a little flustered at the question. At least she didn’t have to awkwardly segway to ‘do you want to keep making out?’ whenever they got back.

With that, they took off again. Catra sped down the highway not necessarily for the exhilaration of it this time, but to get home as fast as possible. She already had plenty of adrenaline running through her veins after having a taste of Glimmer’s lips, and her heart was still pumping at the anticipation of getting to kiss her even more back home. She made no stops this time, taking the trip back all at once, but she didn’t think Glimmer would mind. 

The ride back for Glimmer was very peaceful, and a good time for her to digest all of the things that happened today. Well, sort of. She couldn’t really think of much else other than what she wanted to do to Catra when they got back, feeling somewhat impatient the closer they got to the dorms. Though, the question of whether or not Entrapta was going to be there was… ehhh, who cares. What was _she_ going to do about it?

When they were finally back in the parking lot, Glimmer took note of just how absolutely dead it was on campus. I mean, it’s a beautiful summer evening—why would anyone be at their dorms? She held onto Catra as she slowly rolled the motorcycle into a parked position and turned the engine off, taking her helmet off as they stopped. Catra took hers off too after she flipped the kickstand with her foot, then shook her head from side to side to air out her hair. _Ugh_ , Glimmer thought, watching the way she moved in front of her as her thighs still hugged her. She didn’t want to wait until they were upstairs, still writhing with want. _Fwsh!_

In a blink of bright pink, Glimmer reappeared on the other side of Catra, facing her, and straddling her as she let go of her helmet, tossing it in the general direction of the grassy boulevard. It definitely caught her off guard, watching the flustered kitten’s face dance for her before she pushed her lips forward to hers for round two, stifling any sounds Catra was making with a moan of her own.

“Mmf!” Catra grunted in surprise, but she didn’t hesitate to kiss her back yet again. Her hands gripped Glimmer thighs to keep them both steady, and her lips moved against Glimmer’s roughly and non-delicately. She felt Glimmer’s hips moving against hers, tantalizing and almost torturous at this point, and a breathy moan escaped her mouth. Her finger brushed over Glimmer's hipbones and slipped under her shirt, reaching around to rub against her back, where she clawed lightly at her skin.

Honestly, Catra thought it was incredibly hot, and it only made her more eager to take Glimmer back to her room and ravish her. Or fuck it, they were already making out on a bike in the middle of a nonvacant parking lot. All Glimmer had to do was say the word, and Catra would shamelessly go to town on her right there. As Glimmer wasn’t going to hold back, then neither was she.

 _“Ahh,”_ Glimmer groaned loudly with a sharp breath between sloppy kisses at the touch of Catra’s claws grazing her bare back, flinching forward from how good it felt and hugging Catra tight with her big thighs. _God, give me more,_ she thought as her arms flew up to Catra’s shoulders. She felt her feet dancing around for pegs to hold herself on, and when she found them she shoved Catra down against the back of the bike and pushed her weight down against her. It was… honestly a little effortless when she actually used force intentionally.

The princess took a few moments to admire the blushing feline, taking the time to catch her breath as she licked her lips slowly. Catra wasn’t going _anywhere_ and it was fun to tease her. That said, Glimmer was still wildly struck with impatience that she couldn’t resist pushing her lips down and shoving her tongue far between Catra’s lips as yet another moan reverberated between them.

Catra practically _whimpered_ beneath her. If they had been on a bed or on the ground or anywhere else, it would be easy for her to flip their positions. Here, she couldn’t move without falling off her own bike, and the constraint both pissed Catra off and turned her on even more.

Her tongue slid against Glimmer's, pushing back against its assertiveness with her own fire, burning away any of the public decency they had left—sorry to whichever poor college student was trying to go to their car right now. Despite her compromised position, Catra's aggression picked up again, too antsy to leave things as they were, and she bit down on Glimmer's tongue, not hard enough to hurt, just to get a point across.

Glimmer winced at the cat’s teeth against her tongue, but chuckled right back as one of her hands wandered up from Catra’s shoulders to her cheeks and the other to the back of the bike. She broke the kiss but continued to pin her with her lower body as she held herself up, stroking her cheek delicately with her fingernails. “I’m just getting started, Kitten,” she aggressively whispered down to her with unbroken eye contact. Then, her hands gripped Catra’s shoulders tight before she could even respond. _Fwsh!_

Just like that, they were in Catra’s dorm, crashing down against her bed with Glimmer’s back against it so as to not crush the feline, Catra tumbling atop her as they reentered. Thankfully, she got them to the right place—it was pretty unsafe, in hindsight, but Glimmer couldn’t wait. Catra would forgive her, surely. “Sorry—you good babe?” she asked anyway, looking her over to make sure she didn’t hit anything. _Oh, whoops,_ she thought, impulsively calling her that.

Catra winced as she fell back against the cheap mattress. “Yeah I’m fine, give me a minute,” she requested, needing a moment to recover from the dizziness that the magic left her with. Still kinda hot how eager Glimmer was to get there, though.

Glimmer took much care in holding Catra against her so she could recuperate, stroking her hair with one hand as the other one wandered her back. “Take your time,” she said gently so as to not rush her. Her breaths were so _cute_ and every inch of her was so soft and warm. 

When her head felt clear enough, Catra pulled her in for another kiss—only to break away a moment later. “Uhh, one more minute,” she said. She slid off of Glimmer, hopped off the bed and took a moment to regain her balance. After walking over to Entrapta’s side of the room, she knocked on her closet door once, before opening it to check for any bystanders. Going at it in the middle of a parking lot was its own sexy, thrilling thing. Doing it while your roommate was unknowingly in the closet was a very different thing.

Now that the coast was clear, Catra nearly leapt back into her own bed, playfully tackling Glimmer and wrestling with her a bit, until Catra was on top of her, straddling her hips. She leaned down and licked Glimmer’s neck.

“So, do you… want to keep going further?” she asked, to make sure they were both on the same page.

“I’ve got alllllll night, Kitten,” Glimmer said as sensually as possible. The hand intertwined with her hair pulled her down for a deep, tender kiss to get things going again, the other navigating beneath Catra’s clothes to reaches unknown. It was going to be a long night.


	10. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a near-sleepless night, the girls carry on with the final day of their week. Glimmer can't sit still from her elation, and neither can Catra, but not for the same reasons.

Right after Catra stirred awake, she was pretty sure that she was about to pass out again, since she had a mini heart attack at the sight of Glimmer laying next to her.

_ That… really happened, huh? _ she realized, the memories of the previous night rolling in. She turned red at the thought of them. Although Catra was staring right at Glimmer, part of her still couldn’t believe it. After days of— well, if she's being honest... After  _ years  _ of constant sexual tension between, they finally did it, and it was even better than Catra had imagined it would be. Because of course she imagined it, who doesn't imagine what it's like to sleep with their close friend? Right?

Er... was ‘friend’ still accurate? Catra could help but to wonder, what did this mean for their relationship, whatever it was at this point?

She laid on her side as she watched Glimmer sleep, listening to her steady breathing as she wondered what she was going to say later on. Catra didn’t get to see Glimmer sleeping often. The only chances she had were at all-nighter study groups, and during those, she was too stressed out to take the time to appreciate how cute Glimmer looked while napping. At the moment, the snoozing princess had a serious case of a bed head, her mouth slightly agape and her face so relaxed that it looked even rounder and cuter than usual. She was wearing nothing but the oversized tee that Catra gave her to sleep in, after she declared she was too exhausted from all of their nighttime activities to walk the few steps back to her own room.

The twin-sized bed didn’t give them much room for stretching their bodies out, so they were still tangled together, bare legs intertwined. Glimmer's arm was lying beneath Catra's neck, and Catra had her own draped across Glimmer's body. She felt so soft and so warm, and Catra wondered if she would end up just laying in bed like this all day.

While Catra was still staring at her face, Glimmer's eyes blinked open, and the feline was caught red-handed in the very gay act of staring longingly at her lover. She shook off the flustered look as much as she could.

“O-Oh, hey, good morning,” she welcomed Glimmer back to the conscious world with a grin. “Sleep well?”

Glimmer moaned a muffled ‘mhm’ as her eyes shuttered once again, not quite conscious enough to even recognize what she was responding to.  _ Is that Catra talking to me? _ she thought in her sleepy stupor before she felt a rush of alertness, internally jolting her awake, inhaling sharply.  _ Right. _

“Hee hee, hey, kitten,” she said gently, yawning quite dramatically as her body involuntarily stretched, her thigh dragging over Catra’s below as her body jostled. Now fully awake (or at least as awake as she could be), the princess averted her gaze to Catra’s soft smile and reciprocated with a tender grin of her own before pulling the feline closer for more snuggles. It was probably one of the best sleeps she’d ever had and it felt like a dream to wake up so comfortably nestled against Catra’s warm body. 

She let out another soft sighing moan as she continued to connect to reality, recalling the events of last night. What came over them last night was relentless, simply put, their activities traversing late into the night as they finally got to indulge each other, and Glimmer could never imagined it being as good as it ended up being. She wished that she didn’t have to face the school day so that she could just… keep going, feeling somewhat aroused at the idea of spending the day like that, but dismissing it regrettably responsibly. 

She twisted her body to stretch once more before turning her head to the desk and reaching for her phone, clicking it to check the time, and letting it flop back down to the side desk.  _ Okay, it’s not even nine yet, I still have time, _ she thought to herself, flinging her head back down and turning back to Catra. 

“God, I keep thinking today’s Saturday but… nope,” she groaned, letting out a giggle as her leg flung back over Catra’s, pushing herself against her as much as she could without much force.

"Ugh, same," Catra sympathized.

She nuzzled her face against Glimmer’s neck, and she purred softly. Her hand moved down, and she dragged a claw ever so lightly along Glimmer’s exposed thigh. Pressing her lips to Glimmer’s skin, she left a constellation of kisses against her collarbone, and the taste of pure starlight left tingles down her spine.

“Your first class isn’t until 10:30, right?” Catra asked, her tail encircling around Glimmer's legs. She kissed up Glimmer’s neck, all the way up to behind her ear, where she whispered, “We have time for one more round...”

Glimmer chuckled as her head impulsively flung back to expose more of her neck to the feline’s tender kisses. She couldn’t resist succumbing to this feeling of lust all over again, wrapping her leg around her further. “You  _ know _ I can’t say no, love,” she said as her hands slunk down beneath the covers. They had time...

—

Class honestly could not have felt slower today once Glimmer’s day finally got going. She managed not to get  _ too _ carried away before warping off to her own room to shower and pretty up for the day, still getting to class barely on time, but now that she was there, she wished she  _ was _ late. She’d never felt class drag on like this before, but perhaps it was because she was just so smitten with thoughts of Catra the whole time and couldn’t focus. Naturally, she couldn’t help but text her as they got to their respective classes, bantering about whatever random crap came to mind.

Glimmer didn’t mind wasting a little time in class, being relatively caught up on the subjects of the day, but was perhaps texting Catra a little too much, noticing the ratio of her own texts versus hers back and forth. Granted, today was Catra’s psychology day, which was the subject she liked the most, so that was probably why she wasn’t texting as frequently, Glimmer concluded. 

**_Glimmer [10:58am]  
_ ** _ omg i finally got a compliment on my tattoo! _ _  
_ _ i stole one of your band shirts today so it’s out in the open haha _ _  
_ _ it’s so cute now that the swelling has gone down a lil! _

Despite Friday being the tolerable day of the school week, with lectures that she actually enjoyed listening to, Catra could hardly concentrate on anything. The past week had felt like a fucking whirlwind, and she felt like the dust was finally beginning to settle. That should have been a good thing. The worst was over, and the previous day was undoubtedly one of the best days of her life.

Yet for some reason that she couldn't put a finger on, Catra felt uneasy. She found herself procrastinating on replying to Gimmer's text.

**_Catra [11:22am]  
_ ** _ sweet  
_ _ perfuma actually complimented mine  
_ _ she likes flowers and likes the v so checks out  
_ _ wouldnt put it past her to fuck a plant ngl _

**_Glimmer [11:23am]  
_ ** _ LOL omg, honestly yea  
_ _ i mean what else does she do in the greenhouse all day _

On the contrary to Catra, Glimmer did  _ not _ wait long to respond, practically checking her phone every minute or two for texts even though she left it on the desk that she could see whenever her phone lit up with a notification. Weirdly enough, it remained silent barring Catra’s texts. Her mom hadn’t texted her all day, compared to  _ every _ previous day this week having multiple. Honestly? Good.

Time continued to slowly tick by. It was a long class, not ending for another hour yet. She decided to try bantering with Bow a little too, having not checked in with him in a couple days, but he wasn’t replying too much either, presumably also busy with class.  _ Damn, maybe I should have just skipped today _ , Glimmer thought. She might as well not even be in class, her head definitely wasn’t.

When Catra read Glimmer’s message, she cracked a smile at it, and she may or may not have spent the next few minutes imaging her and Glimmer in a greenhouse doing very innocent things.

_... Damn, why am I like this?  _ she wondered, bringing a hand to her forehead and sighing. She still took her time to reply to Glimmer, but she eventually got around to asking something that had been on her mind. Once she was alone with her thoughts, the guilt of it was setting in even more.

**_Catra [11:45am]  
_ ** _ hey btw forgot to ask  
_ _ arent u broke as hell after buying the bike?  
_ _ i thought u were saving up to move out _

Ah, right. Glimmer didn’t tell her that she bought the motorcycle with her mother’s credit card, having totally asked her beforehand and getting permission. Yep.

She had a sudden bout of anxiety about what her mother would inevitably say when she found out, but she was still confident that there wouldn’t be any serious repercussions. Besides, it’s not like she couldn’t afford it if Glimmer asked for one, though she never tried to make a habit of abusing her family’s wealth. It was a nice bike, no denying that, but it wasn’t the most bank-breaking one available at the store she went to. It’s fiiine.

**_Glimmer [11:46am]  
_ ** _ haha about that…  
_ _ my mom’s credit card was still in my purse  
_ _ oops _ 💕  
_ haha i’ll deal with it tho don’t worry!! it’s yours :) _

Catra's jaw dropped. Oh  _ fuck. _ Was she being serious?! If Angella didn't  _ already  _ hate her, this would be the nail in the coffin. Maybe it would be the literal nail in the coffin, and Angella was going to kill her.

**_Catra [11:47am]  
_ ** _ wait what???!!!!  
_ _ holy shit  
_ _ rip it was nice knowing u _

**_Glimmer [11:47am]  
_ ** _ omg no I'll be ok, her threats are always so hollow haha _

Well, there was nothing she could do about it now. As much as Angella's dislike of Catra was mutual, Catra had already said that she  _ didn't  _ want to come in between Glimmer and her mom. She didn't want to be the reason their relationship deteriorated. Yet there she was again, caught in Glimmer's family feud. In her defense, it was Glimmer who pushed it that far, not Catra.

The feline's class ended, and she decided to go wrestle with her emotions over food.

—

The rain was coming down  _ hard _ against the windows as Glimmer made her way through the campus halls. Thankfully for everyone, each of the main sectors were interconnected by skywalks at least  _ somewhere _ , so despite the walks being a bit longer than just stepping outside, nobody had to get wet if they didn’t want to. Even better was that Glimmer’s break between her classes today was a bit longer than others, so she had time to grab a lunchtime iced coffee, and nabbed one for Catra, too. 

She just could not get her out of her head no matter how hard she tried to focus on school, and getting it on right before classes did not help her case by any stretch of the imagination. Naturally, she felt inclined to do something nice for her since the feline  _ had _ been working so diligently on school this week, amidst all of the feelings and all. It was refreshing to see her working hard, but in reality it was just an excuse in Glimmer’s mind to go see her again so soon.

They were texting through the morning classes as usual, and Catra mentioned where she would be during their shared break time. While their breaks were equivalent, only fifteen minutes overlapped with each other’s, but that was enough to at least chat for a bit. Glimmer turned the corner to the cafeteria lounge area, somewhat sparsely populated as it was still a little bit before the lunch rush, but there she was, munching away on some greasy goodies. 

“Hiya, babe! I brought you a pick-me-up for the afternoon—extra cream, like you like it!” she said eagerly as she pulled the opposing chair out and sat down across from her upon setting the drinks down on the table. 

Catra was in the middle of stuffing her mouth with a handful of fries when she saw Glimmer bouncing over, wearing one of her shirts. She was surprised to see her, knowing the short amount of time the princess had before she would need to move onto her next class. It wasn’t an unwelcome surprise, but it caught her a little off guard.

“Hey there, Sparkles,” Catra greeted her casually.  _ Babe, huh? _ she noticed.

“Oh, wow. Thanks, you shouldn't have,” the feline said, hesitating for a moment before taking a long sip of the coffee. 

The princess watched pleasantly as the feline enjoyed the treat she bought her. Even on a gloomy day like today, she managed to look so radiant and sweet, like usual. Glimmer honestly didn’t even  _ need  _ the coffee, just seeing her was enough of a pick-me-up on its own.   


The coffee really did hit the spot, Catra admitted, especially after spending all of the previous class wanting to just curl up and take a catnap, which is how she always felt on rainy days. She did appreciate Glimmer bringing her the drink. It was a kind, cute gesture that she went out of her way to do. She… really didn’t have to. 

Catra didn’t know why, but something— maybe everything— about the situation made panic flash through Catra's nerves.

Despite what had been an undoubtedly magical morning, Catra couldn’t hold onto the same enthusiasm throughout the rest of the day. At first, she figured that it was the rain getting her down, but the main cause was definitely the intrusive thoughts that had been plaguing her since this morning.

She realized something. Being with Glimmer was so euphoric, and it made her feel so carefree. The energy between them was intoxicating and dizzying, and she couldn't get enough of it. In the moments where their bodies were pressed together, everything seemed perfect. Nothing in the world mattered when Glimmer was around. In her defense, how was she supposed to concentrate on anything else, when Glimmer had a body like  _ that? _ Catra was smitten by her, and she knew that.

When they finally parted, Catra finally had time to think by herself, and… things were starting to get to her.

"So, uh," Catra said. "Shitty weather, right?"

Glimmer was able to snap out of her stare upon hearing the question, turning her eyes to the window to observe the water slamming against the glass. It was a terrible day, for sure, but it didn’t feel like it. “Yeah, it’s awful out there… but it feels sunny with you!” she said, trying to be sweet as she reached her hand forward over the table, wanting Catra to hold it.

Catra bit down on her lip, looking uncomfortable. She pulled her own hand away, slipping it under the table.

The thoughts scrambled together in her head, and she felt like she couldn’t sort them out. She tried to make sense of it all, and she pulled at every heartstring that dangled in front of her, waiting for one of them to explain to her  _ here, this is the one, this is what you really want _ . No matter how hard she tried, all she ended up with was a tangled mass of messed up feelings.

She wasn’t sure what she wanted. She didn’t know if she was ready for this yet, or if it was a responsible choice to start another relationship so soon after her last. She wondered if they were rushing into this too soon. It was obvious that they were very into each other, but... what if it was infatuation, not love? What if she was doing this for a reason she didn't realize yet, one that would be obvious upon looking back? What if she was just lonely and desperate to be loved? Plenty of people rushed into rebound relationships—was this one, too? She didn't want it to be. At least, she was pretty sure that she didn't want it to be. And maybe, somewhere, deep down, after all these years... something was still always screaming at her to run.

Catra took a deep breath. Experience taught her that it’s better to talk about these things sooner rather than later. She might as well prove to herself that she learned that lesson.

She asked Glimmer, “... You have time to talk right?”

Suddenly, the air was tense. Glimmer furrowed her brows toward Catra, looking somewhat concerned. Maybe something happened in one of her classes to put her in a bad mood? It felt a little strange for her to pull her hand back so quickly, the hand that so tenderly touched her from head to toe hardly three hours ago.

“Y-yes, Catra, of course—what’s up?” she asked, wanting to relay that she was happy to listen and talk, even if it meant being a little late to her class. She took a sip of her own coffee, her brows shifting into that of a more compassionate look of worry. The tone of her voice felt… weird. Was this not the same Catra that was so smitten by her in the early hours? 

“Ok, so... I...” Catra started to explain, fumbling with her words, to no one's surprise. “I don’t know if this… I don’t know if I...”

She groaned and hung her head down, grabbing the sides of it. How was she supposed to explain, when she didn't even know how she was really feeling? She didn't want to accidentally say something she didn't mean at all. She didn't want to accidentally hurt Glimmer. She didn't want to make her promises that she couldn't keep, either.

“... I’m not sure what I want,” Catra admitted, her voice hushed. She looked back up at Glimmer, her eyes pleading for empathy. "I like you Glimmer—you know I do! I just... I need some time to think about this."

Glimmer’s heart  _ sank _ , laying anchor to the depths of her chest as she could suddenly hear the sound of the rain intensify rapidly. Her lips scrunched impulsively, biting the inside of her lip as the words from Catra repeated incessantly amidst the noise. Was she... serious? If so, why the hell did she have sex with her so many times if she wasn’t sure?! It just… it didn’t make any sense. Her eyebrows contorted on her face as her eyes shifted from place to place. 

She opened her mouth to respond, but bit down on her lower lip to stop herself, grunting with a spike of rage. There was so much swirling around in her head that she didn’t even know what she  _ could _ say. On one hand, what the fuck? Was she just after her body, then? But on the other, her feelings felt  _ so _ sincere, and it would be unfair for her not to respect her space and behave like a selfish bitch about it. 

Sharply, she took a quick breath and released it immediately, almost sounding like a hiss through her teeth before she tossed a deadly glare to Catra, then let loose a little. “Then what— Why the  _ fuck _ did— I mean, I just— We like—” she crumbled, feeling her lips quiver as she stumbled on her speech.  _ What the fuck am I even trying to say? There’s no point, _ Glimmer thought to herself, bashfully turning away with a defeated sigh.

“I’m sorry,” she followed up, partially for her outburst, but mostly for her just being there. She reached for her bag and pulled it up to her shoulder, looking back over to Catra whose face looked…? Glimmer couldn’t even tell. Mortified? Relieved? Sad? Angry? All of them? She sighed again, clenching her teeth so as to not make it rain indoors too, and grimaced when she finally said, “I need to g-go to class.”

The princess picked up her bag, barely able to keep her composure for much longer as she started taking her stride away from the table, uncharacteristically not pushing her chair back in. Maybe it was shitty of her to not stick around and talk more about it, but ultimately Glimmer just felt so  _ stupid _ and just couldn’t stay. There was little she could do to stop the tears, stifling what noises she could while she was still within eye’s view, but it was bright as day if Catra saw the back of her sleeve fly up to her face as soon as she turned away.

As Glimmer walked away, Catra couldn’t bring herself to call out to her. What the hell was there to say after that?

Once she was out of sight, the feline leaned back in her seat, covered her face with her hands, and let out a large groan. Well, that went as awfully as it possibly could have. She didn’t think Glimmer would be  _ happy  _ about what she had to say, but was she really that surprised by it? There’s  _ no  _ way she didn’t notice that Catra hadn’t said the magic words yet.

This is why Catra didn’t talk about her feelings; it always ruined everything. Why did she have to have feelings at all? If she had none, she wouldn’t have these strong, confusing, frustrating feelings for Glimmer, and she wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. Maybe she could convince Entrapta to turn her into a robot or something, devoid of all emotion. Erase her memories, too, while she was at it.

She knew she was acting irrationally. She knew that she wasn't being fair. Glimmer shouldn’t have to put up with someone as shitty as her. Maybe all of this really was a mistake.

Right as she wondered if this could get any worse, her phone buzzed. Catra took it out of her pocket and opened the email that she was notified for.

_ From: julietg@bmu.org _

_ Your meeting with President Angella has been scheduled for 4:20pm today. Please arrive promptly. _

"...Fuck."

—

The rain had stopped, though the forecast predicated even more later tonight, and Catra was able to walk through campus fine and dry. The administrative building was ancient and gaudy and Catra hated it. We get it, you have tons of money and power. You don’t need angel statues in the garden to prove that. She rolled her eyes at them as she entered the building.

The interior of the building was sleek and modern, compared to its exterior. Catra had been here a few times before, mostly during breakdowns with an academic counselor over what she was going to do with her life. Four major changes later and an unquantifiable amount of stress later, she had a vague idea, at least.

After a trip on the elevator to the Head Honcho floor, Catra was greeted by a receptionist, though her aura gave off more of a palace guard vibe. Not that Catra was checking her out or anything, but she was pretty sure those arms could take down anyone twice her size.

The woman nodded, as if expecting her, and gestured to a door on the right, which was halfway open. Catra took a deep breath and went in, and the funeral bells commemorating the end of her academic career rang out.

It was ominously quiet despite how extravagantly lit the ornate office was from the abundance of sky windows. There sat the university president, pen scratching the paper, perhaps the only sound present as the feline walked in the door. Without looking up from her work, Angella took her free hand and raised it, gently gesturing a pull with her fingers toward her, creating a figment of purple light as if drawing a picture. Then, in the same motion, the door shut behind Catra.  _ Chnk! _

“Welcome—please, sit,” Angella softly greeted her, the same hand gesturing to the empty seat ahead of her. What she was doing wasn’t urgent, but she never dared to waste time during her days. That said, it also gave her some extra time to prepare her words.

She carefully placed the pen in its holster once she finished writing, then reached for a stamp to conclude the letter.  _ Chnk. _ She tucked the paper within the open folder on her desk before sealing it and finally turning her eyes to the student, taking a silent, long breath before initiating the discussion. 

There weren’t many other people in the world that exuded as much raw magical power as Angella did, and it alone could make anyone feel intimidated. Catra could feel the hairs on the skin standing up as the door closed behind her, but she kept her composure. Gotta keep her dignity intact, at least.

“Thank you for making the time to see me, despite the short notice,” she began gently, but it quickly dissolved into a more stern demeanor. “Do you know why I’ve brought you to my office, Catra?”

“Hmm, no idea,” the Magicat student lied, shrugging as she took a seat, her tone dry. "Can't be something personal, right? Otherwise, isn't that kinda an abuse of power?"

Angella’s eyes shuttered briefly as she exhaled deeply, beginning to feel peeved already at her snarkiness, despite fully expecting it. It wasn’t a shock that she’d suspect that, given the pretenses of the week. In that moment, she began to wonder what  _ exactly _ her daughter was saying about her to the feline. She would likely never know.

She lifted her eyebrows, a gentler expression welcoming her following words. “Not quite. I would like to spend this time to check in with you, given that we’re nearing the year’s end,” she began, sitting farther forward in her chair to sound clearer. 

“We’re not… unfamiliar with these discussions, given how many times your major has changed. Like all students, my wish is to ensure your success,” she continued to ramble somewhat sincerely for a change. “Is this major fitting to your future goals, do you think? You have stuck with it for much longer than the others, now.”

“Yep. It’s working out great, thanks for asking,” Catra replied curtly. She didn’t believe that Angella actually cared about her future, but it didn’t matter, anyways. She didn’t need people to believe in her; they never have. She could be successful without them.

“... I’m, uh, going to go into social work, I think,” she mumbled afterwards. Why was she bringing all of this up, anyways? They both knew why they were there, and Catra wished that she'd stopped beating around the bush.

Angella’s smile finally made its debut, pleased to hear a goal in mind compared to all the other times they had met previously. She nodded slightly. “I think that is an apt career for you, Catra. I know you’ve struggled to find your footing somewhat, so it is warming to hear you have something to work towards,” she concluded.

The genuine tone caught Catra by surprise. She didn't really have a response to it, since all of her practiced ones were just passive-aggressive comebacks. So she just nodded her head slowly.

After a moment of silence, Angella wandered her hand over to the mouse of the desktop on the rightmost side of her desk, making a couple clicks before speaking up again. “Last week, some of your professors emailed me regarding your absence and… lack of engagement. What can you tell me about that?” she asked firmly, glaring at the near-full week of missed classes.

Damn, her professors ratted her out? Those fucking snitches. Catra was surprised, though, to know that they cared enough to escalate the issue all the way to Angella. Maybe failing students looked bad on their record; it must be something like that.

"It's not like attendance is mandatory," Catra complained. "Like time I checked, I'm still passing." Ok, she was  _ barely  _ passing, but who cared? Passing is passing.

Angella let out the slightest chuckle. “We both know that’s not true—attendance and participation are both important,” pausing and leaning forward with a quieter voice, “and it’s a  _ free _ ten percent of all of your grades,” she reminded her. It was in all of the curriculums that the professors go through at the beginning of the year, but surely Catra didn’t pay attention to them. Maybe she didn’t even know.

"Still passing," Catra grumbled under her breath, but she didn't bother with arguing back.

The president reeled back into her chair and spoke normally again. “Which brings me to  _ this _ week, Catra. You barely missed  _ any  _ classes or hand-ins,” she started, her eyes piercing Catra’s during a pause. “What changed?” she asked, maintaining a professional demeanor. She wanted to hear it for herself, what she was already convinced the truth was.

At the question, the catgirl froze, her ears pointing upwards. Angella's observation... wasn't wrong. After weeks of moping around and drowning in self-pity, she finally was able to pick herself back up and actually care about school again. Something  _ had  _ changed. There was the obvious answer. It felt like a trap to say it.

"Uhh..." Catra fumbled. "Good influence, I guess."

Somehow, Angella thought that she would just say it outright, but she knew deep down that Catra was more clever than that. Catra called her bluff, yet she couldn’t help but begin to unveil a grin as a quiet air took the stage once again, observing the feline’s body language. She reached forward to her monitor and turned it off so that she wouldn’t appear distracted by it. If she wanted to discuss non-school matters, Catra deserved her undivided attention. Finally, from the smile came words following the silence. 

“Well, an $8,000 motorcycle  _ would  _ certainly do it, mm?” she smirked towards the feline as she let out a genuine, soft laughter. “I... I used to ride, you know,” she admitted, brows fully raised as she rested her chin against her fist.

Fuck, of  _ course  _ she already knew. Someone doesn't just buy an $8,000 bike on your card without you noticing. She probably got a notification for it as soon as it happened. Catra's eyes went wide at the follow-up, and she gawked at Angella's smug look. It also might have been the first time she heard Angella laughing,  _ ever _ . 

She couldn't stop herself from shouting, "Wait, you WHAT?!"

Of all the things she would have guessed Angella was into, owning a motorcycle was  _ not  _ one of them. Even staring at her now, Catra couldn't imagine it. She tried to picture her without the lavender suit jacket or the pearl accessories. She imagined her on a bike, helmet on and clad in matte leather, breaking every speed limit as she plowed down the highway... Nope, Catra  _ still  _ couldn't do it at all, which made it all the more shocking.

Angella’s laugh took a jump in volume and excitement at Catra’s reaction, a genuine feeling of joy washing over her as she reminisced about the time  _ she _ was in college, tearing down the highways at alarming speeds and stealing the looks of gaudy men that passed her by on the road with her high-shouldered black jacket. Timeless memories.

“Yes, yes—it’s true,” she continued, completely informally as she let out a sigh. “I remember the first time I took Micah out by the shoreline to look at the stars… magic couldn’t  _ possibly _ compare to nights like that,” she shared, her cheek slumping somewhat against her knuckle as she got lost in the thought. Though she was able to regain her poise before too long.

“Tell me… did she like it?” she asked Catra without reservations, her smile of interest still beaming. There was a part of her that always wanted to take her daughter out on one, but never thought she’d enjoy it given how rocky teaching her how to drive went.

Catra's guard loosened up as she watched Angella reminisce. It felt so, so weird to have something in common with her. Catra thought that the angelic being was the complete opposite of her, representing everything she hated and everything she never wanted to be. Then again, she used to think that about Glimmer years ago, too. Maybe she needed to get better at not making assumptions.

"... Yeah, she loved it," Catra said, and she smiled softly at the memory. She was right; magic couldn't compare to it. Nothing could. "Uh... I can ask her to return it, by the way..."

Angella’s warm expression faded somewhat as she processed the suggestion from Catra. It’s true, it was  _ quite _ the payment to come unprompted, but she hadn’t yet decided what she would do about it. It was on the lower end of what Glimmer  _ could _ have chosen, and that in itself meant something to Angella. Still, it was done spitefully behind her back which demanded repercussions of some kind or another. 

It begged the question on whether or not she should have it refunded. She’d been thinking of it for the whole day, and yet still hadn’t made a decision. Which was strange for Angella, never known for indecisiveness. On one hand, there was no justification for Catra to keep it, as it is effectively money that Glimmer  _ stole _ to buy it with and could be easily replaced with the refund. On the other, however, how could she  _ possibly  _ rip it away from the girl before her, when she felt just as passionately about the thrill of the ride as her past self did? It really boiled down to one thing that would make or break it. 

“Catra, tell me,” she began, taking a deep breath, contemplating her next words carefully. Then, with the most solemn, vulnerable stare, her brows just slightly narrowed towards the feline, “Do you love her?”

Catra’s heart skipped a beat.

_ Fuck _ , how could she ask that so bluntly? The feline's entire body tensed up, and it begged her to choose fight or flight, to not fall for whatever trick question this was. Except... it was an extremely straightforward question, so why couldn't she answer it?

Did she love Glimmer? Well, yes, duh, of course she loved and cared about her. Catra didn't have to convince herself of that one. However, that wasn’t quite what Angella was getting at, and she knew it. Was she  _ in love _ with Glimmer, too? She wouldn't let herself entertain the question before. Too much risk, too much confusion, she told herself. Yet presented directly with it, now…  _ God damn it. Catra, you idiot. _

She knew the answer. Maybe she had for a while.

“I do,” she said, and it felt like the most earnest, ardent thing she had ever said in her entire life.

As the words left her mouth, she felt as if her ribcage cracked open, her heart vulnerable, honest and as delicate as a yolk, and her breath carried away the lump that had lingered in her throat for who knows how long. It was like she had been suffocating all this time without knowing it, and she could finally breathe again.

“I love Glimmer,” she repeated, dauntlessly, as she kept her eyes locked with Angella’s.

Angella watched the honesty unfold, each of Catra’s walls coming down one by one before her very eyes, and everything started falling into place. It all made sense, and suddenly she felt incredibly ashamed and embarrassed as Catra poured her heart out so sincerely to her, a spark of vulnerability she never thought she’d see. It... wasn’t Catra who was a bad influence, it was Glimmer who was a  _ good _ influence. 

She sighed with a mixture of relief and sorrow, the sharp realization of her poor behavior dawning on her in full. Angella  _ loved _ her daughter more than anything, yet she got so caught up sheltering her for so long that she neglected to realize how much she had grown, unfairly shackling her independence. There was a lot of work to be done, but understanding the big picture was the first step, and she never expected  _ Catra _ to be the one to hand her the first piece.

Glimmer aside, Angella had to reassess her thoughts on Catra as well after witnessing such raw compassion written on her face. There was something about it all, paired with her quirky charms that was just… reassuring, like she had been wrong about the feline ever since she was young. 

“I just want her to be happy,” Angella finally commented, still somehow unable to shake this smile from her face. “And I can tell, now, that you make her feel exactly that.”

"I... I guess I do," Catra realized. She remembered Glimmer’s giddy smiles when they were together on the sunset-lit beach, as well as her adorable giggles when they were spinning each other around on the dance floor. She had never seen eyes that sparkled the way Glimmer’s did in those moments, and it put the stars themselves to shame. Catra realized how much more often she had seen Glimmer smile during the past week. There was nothing more beautiful than the way Glimmer lit up when she was truly happy, and Catra wanted to always be a part of that.

... She hoped that it wasn't too late to un-fuck everything. She needed to talk to Glimmer, to make sure that she didn't hate Catra's guts already, although Catra wouldn't blame her if she did. And before that, she needed to check in with someone else, too.

_ "Shit.  _ Uh, sorry, I have to go," she said quite abruptly as she stood up. "So, uh... are we good here?"

Many parts of Angella wanted to further pursue conversation upon turning this new page with the feline, but of course knew what urgency felt like and it was loud and clear in Catra's voice. She simply smiled, nodded, and relaxed in her chair as she lifted her fingers. With a gentle snap and blink of light, Catra could hear the door click open behind her. 

"Yes, that will be all today. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're capable of for the rest of the semester. You are dismissed," she said hearkening back to their positive school exchange for a moment.

Angella sat patiently as the feline hastily made her way up from her seat and towards the door, but the school president didn't want to forget the most pivotal piece of this conversation. "And Catra," she called out just as she got to the door, watching her jolt in place before her ears turned, face to follow soon after.

"Thank you," she said in earnest. "Enjoy your weekend."

Catra grinned back. “Thanks, you too,” she returned, before rushing out the door.

She felt like she was walking through a dream. Her heart racing, and she felt weightless as she walked back down the hall. She wanted to run to Glimmer immediately. She wanted to admit that she was wrong, that she was just scared and confused and insecure about everything. 

However, she wanted to be able to do it without any reservations whatsoever, with nothing holding her back.

Once she was outside again, she pulled out her phone, scrolling down her texts to find a particular contact. Catra’s last text to her had been almost a month ago.

****_Catra [4:55pm]_  
_ srry but r u busy?  
_ _ its an emergency _


	11. Downpour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra's mind had never been clearer following her conversation with Angella, and she was desperate to find Glimmer. First, however, she needed to make an important stop.

**_Adora [4:56pm]  
_ ** _Hey!  
_ _No, I'm just at the gym in crescent plaza  
_ _Game tonight so I'm just killing time  
_ _What's up?_

Adora was honestly somewhat thrilled to hear from Catra. It had been a couple days since their forced ‘meeting’ and she’d finally had the space to process some things amidst her studies, both the good _and_ the bad. It was important to give not only her friends the space they deserved, but herself the space she needed as well while the dust settled. 

Things were on the right path, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t still miss Catra. Her relationship with Glimmer of course bounced back in virtually no time, the only difference now mostly being a heightened awareness pertaining to their honesty with each other. Catra’s would take more time and she knew that, which was why this text was so welcomed, though she couldn’t help but feel worried or concerned at the word ‘emergency.’

 **_Catra [4:56pm]  
_ ** _omw_

 **_Adora [4:58pm]  
_ ** _Lol okay!_

The feline knew that she technically didn't need to talk to Adora. The air between them had already been cleared, and even though they just got back on speaking terms, she knew that things would end up ok. Still, with her latest newfound realization, it just felt like the right thing to do.

It was a seven minute walk to the parking lot where Catra's bike was left, then another twelve minutes to drive over to the plaza. Somehow, Catra made it in fifteen, her quickening heart directly controlling her pace. She didn't have time to waste.

After parking, she waited outside of the gym, finding a bench to sit on. She cancelled her gym membership at this place a couple of months ago, for obvious reasons, and she didn't want to deal with all the sweaty people inside, anyways.

 **_Catra [5:12pm]  
_ ** _here, meet me outside?_

 **_Adora [5:12pm]  
_ ** _Yep just a min_

Adora didn’t know what to expect, but it’s not like she was doing anything for the next hour. She sat somewhat absently-mindedly against the wall in anticipation for her arrival, needing to take a break anyway, so it was rather timely when she finally got Catra’s text.

She slung her gym bag over her shoulder even though she trusted it being left alone in the gym, unplugged her earbuds and carried her sweaty self out the doors into the cool summer evening’s air. _Holy shit, it’s hot in there_ , she thought as she sighed with relief, darting her eyes across the boulevard to try and locate her friend. 

Catra wasn’t far, sitting with a helmet in her lap, entranced by her phone as she sat waiting. Adora tossed a glance over to the adjacent parking lot, surprised by the accessory and was met with the shiny red hotness that was Catra’s new bike. _Damn._

“Hey! Sick ride!” Adora said as she jogged over to the bench, adjusting the hair in her ponytail as she put a hand against her hip and slouched over once she came to a stop. “What’s up?”

“Oh yeah, thanks,” Catra accepted the compliment. She held off on saying that Glimmer bought it, since 1) there was still a chance everything would go to shit and the bike would get returned in an effort to rescue even her friendship with Glimmer and 2) it sounded like a flex.

Speaking of flex, Catra couldn't help but notice Adora's choice of gym outfit, which consisted of a tank top and shorts high enough to show off her toned thighs. Adora had never been the type who dressed to impress, but there was no way she didn't know how good she looked. Catra wondered if the goal was to try picking up girls at the gym; that would be kinda hilarious.

"I, uh... wanted to talk about some things," she told her, the nervousness apparent. She scooted over on the bench to give Adora room to sit down.

Once a moment of silence passed, Catra spurted out, all at once, "So I kinda-sorta and by that I mean I'm _definitely_... um... I'm in love with Glimmer." 

She paused, as if processing the words herself as she said them. "I know you said it's ok and all, and you don't care if we get together, but... is it really ok? Are you sure that you won't hate me for it?"

Adora stood there somewhat flabbergasted at the whirlwind of words Catra laid before her, needing a few moments to process it herself. Eventually, she gently chuckled as she plopped her bag on the ground and sat against the bench. She leaned one arm against the back of the bench close to Catra and swung her palm back towards her to rest her head on it as her legs turned toward the feline before she finally responded.

“I mean, are you only _just_ realizing that?” she said in jest, recalling how compassionately Catra rubbed Glimmer’s back when she needed it, paired with all the other sweet instances she could recall from their past of them interacting so flirtatiously. Though perhaps now wasn’t the right time to poke fun, quickly dialing back into that optimistic side of her. 

“Nothing you could do would make me hate you— _especially_ not loving Glimmer. I mean, we’re talking about the same Glimmer, right? How does someone _not_ become completely captivated by her?” she explained to Catra. Of _course_ Adora was alright with it. She wanted to see not only Catra happy, but Glimmer too, and the more she thought about it over the remainder of the week, the more she thought the two of them complemented each other, like peaches and cream.

Sheesh, had Catra really been making it that obvious all this time? If so, why did it take so long for her to realize it herself? She hates that she's fallen into the idiot lesbian stereotype.

At Adora's assuring words, relief washed over her. She didn't expect Adora to be against it, of course, but she wanted to be sure of it, since she wouldn't have blamed Adora if she felt otherwise.

“Heh, yeah. Sometimes I wonder if she even knows how amazing she is,” Catra laughed softly.

The smile faltered as she stared downwards, tapping her sharp nails against the back of her phone.

"I'm worried," she admitted, in a faint voice. "So you probably won't believe me, but sometimes I _know_ when I'm being immature or toxic or whatever. I know it, and I can't stop myself from doing it anyways. I hate it, though. I want to be better. I want to be good enough for her."

Adora thought it was so heartwarming to hear Catra ask for reassurance for her sake, and not Adora’s. That sincerity alone was enough to relay to Adora that things _were_ on the right track to heal, wanting to welcome that step towards rebuilding their trust. It stung to hear her speak so dejectedly about herself, knowing how much good there is in her, and _seeing_ how much she wanted to bring that good to the surface. 

“Hey,” she started, lifting her chin up from her fist and reaching out to Catra’s shoulder. “You don’t know how _strong_ it is to be able to even admit that in the first place, and even moreso that you want to strive to become a better version of yourself,” she explained in an attempt to comfort her.

“Nobody is perfect—we both know I’m not,” Adora laughed briefly. “But it’s because of those flaws that helped me want to get better, and stronger. I-I mean not like _big_ stronger, ummm,” she fumbled, realizing that she may not have gotten that across right, bearing a blush as she unwittingly ran her absent hand through her own hair.

“It’s just—! Look,” Adora began again, biting down on her embarrassment. She wanted to make something abundantly clear, out of love and gratefulness. “Catra, you taught me that I deserved to be loved so long ago—this is me telling you, now. Go _get_ her.”

Somehow, that ended up being exactly what Catra needed to hear. She wasn't perfect, and that was ok. She knew she wanted to be a better person, and that's something she could keep working on. Maybe she and Glimmer would grow together.

Catra threw her arms around Adora’s shoulders, pulled her into a hug, and closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

Adora of course reciprocated in full, pulling Catra in with her burly arms for a close embrace as she let out a sigh of happiness, firmly rubbing Catra’s shoulders with one of her hands as they held each other in that moment.

"... Thanks, Adora," Catra said sincerely, and as she did, she realized that she was thankful for so much more than Adora would never know. They would always be a part of each other's stories, and Catra wouldn't have it any other way

The feline wrinkled her nose as she pulled away, and she joked, “You smell like hot garbage, by the way.”

Adora snorted at the comment, not realizing how close she got her sweaty body to the clean feline, throwing her head back to laugh.

Catra stood up and began putting her helmet back on. "And hey, good luck with your game. Try not to accidentally transform mid-spike and get disqualified again."

“Ehhh, no promises,” Adora joked back, reminiscing the first time Catra ever came to watch her play, unable to resist the flex of a lifetime by slamming the first point as She-Ra. “Drive safe!”

—

_God, I still have another hour?!_ Glimmer thought as her eyes kept darting to the classroom clock. It was Friday, her longest, most grueling day, and this one was no exception. If anything, it might be the _longest_ Friday she’s had since the semester started. Every minute felt like an hour and all the lectures post-lunch have sounded so monotonously alike to one another that she just couldn’t muster up the attention to busy herself. Instead, she just wallowed in _whatever_ this feeling was—was it even a feeling? Maybe it was just apathy. Either way, she was just waiting for the day to end so that she could finally get away from campus for a bit. Ugh, but she didn’t want to spend time with her Mom either… _fuck, this sucks._

It was hard to believe that her day started off as perhaps one of the best mornings she could have ever wished for, yet was left barely scraping by on the gloomiest afternoon, her thoughts muddied by disappointment and anger at herself. Some of it for being so blind, the rest of it for even entertaining the thought of being good enough. For _anyone_ , right now. Hell, there was some part of her that _wanted_ to get an annoying text from her Mom, as twisted of a desire as that may be. It would at least mean she was good enough at ruining things to warrant the attention.

Honestly, it was exhausting. Her body was spending so much energy trying to combat how awful her body was feeling from the stress, that she couldn’t help but begin to doze off in her class. Just as she could feel her head nodding off, she jolted awake again, then looked at the clock. _Fuck, seriously? Only three minutes?! Ugh!_ she thought, foolishly letting her cheek rest on her knuckles, dozing off again pretty much instantly.

_Vrrt! Vrrt! … Vrrt!_

Glimmer sharply inhaled and took in her surroundings as she could feel her phone vibrate against the desk somewhat erratically. Some of her surrounding peers shot her some weird looks, but she paid them no mind as she glanced over to the clock again. Twenty minutes had passed this time. Class was finally _almost_ over, but first, she checked what the hell was going on. 

Texts. From Catra.

 **_Catra [6:19pm]  
_ ** _r u still around?  
_ _?  
_ _WHERE R U ITS IMPORTANT  
_ _nvm adora said ur about to get out of class  
_ _ill meet u down 3rd st ok?_

Catra kept checking her text nervously as she continued down the sidewalk, phone in one hand and umbrella in the other. The rain returned, as promised, and it was really starting to pick up, with fat raindrop splattering noisily above her head.

Was Glimmer ignoring her? Was it too late? She almost asked Adora to text Glimmer as well, to see if it was only Catra she was ignoring, but that seemed like a bit much. If Glimmer was giving her the cold shoulder, well, she probably deserved. She broke Glimmer's heart, in a desperate attempt at trying to protect her own, and she was paying the price for it.

 _Damn it,_ Glimmer thought, rapidly typing in a response looking at the timestamp from several minutes ago. _Ugh, should I, though?_ she pondered, the dam feeling like it was about to break from the flood of guilt she felt. It did sound important, though, and whether or not she wanted to play into whatever this meant, unsure of… everything, she didn’t want to be a bad friend. _That,_ she could do. Probably.

 **_Glimmer [6:28pm]  
_ ** _hey, sorry  
_ _yea i’m just about to leave  
_ _i’ll be there soon, it’s near the building i’m in_

She fired the texts rapidly, almost apologizing again, but refraining so as to not sound… pathetic, or something. Glimmer gathered her computer and any papers she had strewn about on the desk she was set up at, then carried herself out of the classroom somewhat lethargically. It wasn’t a far walk, that much was true. It was barely a block away, but it meant crossing a field in this shitty rain. Well, thank goodness she remembered her umbrella today amidst her exciting morning. 

It worked out as an opportunity to practice a spell, taking a brief look around so as to make sure any school authorities weren’t watching. Then, she muttered a few First Ones’ words and drew a simple glyph that glowed an indigo hue with her index finger, snapping her finger beneath it upon its completion. _Poof!_ Her umbrella materialized before her and fell into her hands. _Whoa, first try this time,_ she thought, feeling somewhat proud as she took her first steps outside, launching the crescent-moon scattered design to the sky to keep dry as she walked.

Catra let out a sigh of relief at the reply. Okay, she didn’t hate her enough to leave her on ‘read.’ Surely, that was a good sign.

She continued walking, and after a couple blocks, Catra saw Glimmer a bit further down, fortunately on the same side of the road and walking towards her. She was hard to miss, with her bright, sparkly hair and her colorful, lunar-themed umbrella. Even in the dark, gray weather, she looked like she was glowing with starlight.

Catra broke out into a run. The puddles that had accumulated splashed at her, drenching her pants to the knee, but she didn’t care at all. She sprinted down the sidewalk and didn’t stop until she stood in front of Glimmer, panting to catch her breath. She looked her in the eyes, and without regret, she threw everything that she was going to say out the window.

“C-Catra?” Glimmer asked confusedly as her expression churned into that of a worried one, clutching tightly onto her own umbrella as the now half-soaked feline panted so heavily in front of her. “Wh-what’s going on, what’s up?” she followed up, her breaths now exasperated from the tension as Catra’s gorgeous hybrid iris’ stared so passionately towards her.

Without a word, the umbrella fell from Catra’s hand and onto the sidewalk. She stepped forward, grabbed Glimmer’s face, and kissed her hard.

Her ears rang with thunder as her lips crashed onto Glimmer’s. The energy flowed between them like a bolt of lightning, and the shock of it caused the world to stop. In that moment, Catra was pretty sure that not a single drop of rain made it to the ground. She couldn’t hear it, if it did. Nothing else was there; nothing else matters. It was just her and the person she loved most in the world. Just Glimmer.

Glimmer couldn’t help but kiss back equally as fervently as she clutched onto Catra’s arms by the jacket tight with her fingers as her emotions completely overran her. The princess could feel the tears that trickled in streams down Catra’s cheeks, leaving hers just as dewy. Catra could feel her erratic, muffled breathing against her lips forge an audible cry from Glimmer, one built from hours of debilitating self-doubt combined with this overstimulating sense of relief, sick with love for the woman kissing her.

Catra broke away, and before Glimmer could say anything, she shouted over the heavy rain, _“I love you!_ Glimmer, I love you. I’m so _so_ sorry, and I love you.”

The princess’ make-up streamed down her face as her own tears poured down, her quivering lips aching for more attention as she looked up towards Catra, still holding her cheeks with her soft hands. 

Amidst the loud cries and sniffles, she gently nodded as she yelled back in a voice broken up by her whimpering. “I-I love _you,_ Catra! M-more than,” _sniffle_ , “a-anything!” 

When she finally managed to get those words out, her umbrella-less hand dove behind Catra’s back and pulled her flush to Glimmer’s body as she buried her face against Catra’s neck, clinging to her tightly as she just let it all out, sobbing aggressively against her as her grip on her own umbrella loosened, crashing to the pavement beneath them.

Catra held Glimmer back as tightly as she could, and she couldn’t tell whether her cheeks were wet with tears or warm rain at this point. She would have believed that this was all a dream, but the downpour that was completely soaking her hair and fur kept her firmly grounded in reality, confirming _yes, this was all real_. She loved Glimmer, and Glimmer loved her back. Holy shit. This was all really happening. Finally, finally, finally.

The feline probably looked like a mess by now, but she didn't care enough to pick up the umbrellas. She was already drenched before this; a little more water wouldn't hurt. Once Glimmer’s sobs had subsided and she leaned back once more, Catra put her hands on Glimmer’s shoulders, and she stared at her with the most determined look.

“So... not to be too forward or anything...” Catra joked, trying to downplay how cheesy her next question sounded. “Will you go out with me? For real, this time.”

Glimmer’s smile transcended its limit as she bared a toothy grin at Catra’s question with what used to be cries turning into giggles of elation. “Yes, YES!” she shouted, pushing up onto her tippy-toes to deliver a short, passionate kiss firmly against Catra’s lips before pulling herself back down and just _looking_ at her. She was completely lost in this feeling of love and adoration that she couldn’t be bothered by how cold and drenched the two of them were now. They could just _be_ together, be _happy_ together. Catra was all hers.

At her acceptance, Catra's heart soared, and her lips stretched into a smile as they pressed against the kiss. She couldn't remember a time where she was this happy—she never even thought there _would_ be a time where she was this happy. Yet here they were, and Catra knew that her happiness and her love for Glimmer could only grow from here.

Finally, after one last long sniffle, Glimmer pulled away from the hug to pick up the umbrellas, placing Catra’s in her hand and softly wrapping her fingers around it before speaking, now sheltered for a moment of peace beneath the pitter-patter of the raindrops above. 

Catra shook her head a bit in a futile attempt to shake some of the water off. It felt silly to carry the umbrella after already falling victim to the rainstorm, but at Glimmer’s enthusiastic smile, she couldn’t get annoyed at it.

“D-do you want to come to my dorm? Adora’s going home for the weekend after her volleyball game—we could order something for dinner to warm up, too!” she asked excitedly, now yearning for the comfort of her bed so she and Catra could just cuddle and be together in a setting that wasn’t… well, _this._

The feline smiled sweetly, and she brought her lips to her girlfriend's forehead. "Sounds perfect," she purred.

—

They made it back to Glimmer’s dorm room in _record_ time, leaving the bike where it was parked until the rain decided to let up. To their advantage, however, Glimmer got them back with the snap of her fingers, warping them to the entrance to their building and walking the short distance for the rest. Sure, it wasn’t allowed, but under what basis would someone _truly_ get mad at her for wanting to get them out of the rain as quickly as possible?

They stopped by Catra’s dorm first so that she could get a change of clothes, then the two of them blinked to Glimmer’s room where they could change in a dry, peaceful setting, nothing but the gentle tapping of rain gracing the windows. Unlike Catra’s room—no thanks to Entrapta—Glimmer’s dorm was unnaturally clean, as both her _and_ Adora kept rather organized lives. Catra didn’t have to watch her step to make sure she didn’t crush a contraption for once and it meant the two of them could get out of their wet clothes at the same time.

Glimmer brought over one of her fresh towels so that Catra could properly dry off as well as one for herself. Naturally, she couldn’t help but giggle a little as the two of them undressed and dried off before they each slunk into respective evening-time clothing, hanging their wet clothes up on the rail of the shower. Once she was all pajama’d up, she poured some cocoa powder into some milk she had in her mini-fridge, then heated the two mugs up in the dorm’s microwave. It was the least she could do with what she had to warm them both up.

Catra had already hopped up on Glimmer’s bed. It was covered under the sheets with not one but _two_ memory foam toppers, maximizing the comfort for how big the bed actually was, and it was very sweet to see Catra’s expression just _melt_ at the feeling of it, having never been in it before. Glimmer giggled at how adorable it was as she set the mugs on her bedside table, then warped into it herself, her back facing Catra and inviting her to be the big spoon against her.

Catra took the hint, and she curled her body around Glimmer’s, their forms fitting together perfectly, sticking like morning dew on a flower petal. They were more-than-familiar with each other's bodies by now, and it wasn't awkward to get into the position, every movement flowing naturally into the next. Her hand slid over Glimmer’s body, coming to a stop at the softness of her tummy, and she rested it there, to keep Glimmer close. It was so warm, so relaxing...

"This is perfect," she mumbled, the low hum of her purr vibrating against Glimmer's spine. She kissed the back of Glimmer’s shoulder, delicately and sweetly, the way moonlight brushes its lips against the smooth surface of a still lake. She was unquestionably, thoroughly, and wholeheartedly head over heels for this girl.

"Are you comfortable?" Catra asked, wanting to be sure. As cozy as the bed was, a little width wouldn't hurt it, and she wanted Glimmer to be as comfy as possible.

“Mmm, wouldn’t change a thing, love,” Glimmer cooed, arching her neck up and to the side so that she could swipe a gentle smooch from Catra as she was cradled against her. This was _absolute_ bliss. She couldn’t help but repeat the events that transpired outside in her head, Catra’s ‘ _I love you!’_ ringing in her ears so wonderfully. 

Glimmer let out a warm sigh, reaching for her phone that laid on the side table to impulsively check the time, but did it honestly even matter? Hell no. There was nowhere she’d rather be, and nothing she’d rather be doing, than this. She shuffled her legs to intertwine them further with Catra’s, just wanting to feel as much of her as possible as she turned her head again to speak.

“I’m so—! …You make me so happy,” she said softly, one of her hands tracing its fingers in gentle circles over the back of the hand Catra had resting against her belly.

Catra smiled as their legs linked together like curling vines, happy to have as much skin as possible touching Glimmer’s. Granted, more of that would come later on. They had the entire weekend to themselves, with no roommates to interrupt, and she had a feeling they both knew how that time was going to be spent.

“Same,”’ the feline agreed. Her nose pressed against Glimmer’s hair, breathing in the scent of shampoo and magic and storms. Happiness smelled like the rainwater, she decided. “Honestly, it’s fucking _crazy_ how happy you make me.”

She kissed Glimmer's neck and sucked gently on the skin, just enough to tickle and tease. The soft sounds that came out of her girlfriend's mouth is what she imagined starlight would sound like, if it had a voice.

After a minute or two, her teasing relented. “Oh, by the way… I met with your mom today,” she dropped the news. “First off, why didn’t you _tell_ me she also used to ride? All this time, she was a badass MILF, and I never knew!”

Glimmer was _just_ slipping into a mood at the touch of Catra’s teeth against the back of her neck, but instantly snapped back to reality at the comment about her mom, unable to stop herself from chuckling hard. 

“Hah! Yeah, she _still_ has her old custom Yamaha. She imported it when she was my age—still looks new!” Glimmer explained, recalling what her mother’s ever told her about it. “Haven’t seen her out on it in years, though,” she added. 

“Why did you… see her, though? Did she want to see you for school shit?” Glimmer probed, not quite understanding why that even happened to begin with. Then, she remembered that she _still_ hasn’t texted her all day. She wondered if the two things were related.

“Er… We talked about school, yeah, then we talked about her biking days, and then...” Catra hesitated, not sure if Glimmer was going to be upset or not by the real reason Angella wanted to talk. She propped herself up a bit by her elbow.

“We talked about you,” she finished. "I guess you could say she approves of us now?"

“She _what?!”_ Glimmer exclaimed, instantly twisting onto her back and facing Catra with her mouth agape. What the _hell_ did she just—was she serious?! “What do you mean, ‘approves’? I mean—just, like—huh?” she stammered, completely dumbfounded as she flung her texts open to look at her mother’s conversation. It was all texts asking to call her or text her, and yet… _nothing_ since she bought the motorcycle with the card. _Why?!_ she thought, completely staring at the thread of texts.

“I haven’t even talked with her yet since I bought you the bike,” she said, locking her phone and letting it crash to the bed as her hand flung up to her face to absently run her fingers through her own hair. “I should suck it up and just… call her this weekend,” she added, continuing to ramble on somewhat, “I was _supposed_ to go home this weekend, it’s the least I could do.”

"It was kinda weird, not going to lie, but..." Catra commented and shrugged as she sat up, "talking to her actually really helped to give me clarity on things?"

She grabbed Glimmer's hand, brought it to her lips and lightly kissed each of her knuckles, something to smooth her anxious thoughts. 

"You should call," she agreed. It was obvious how much Angella loved and cared for her daughter, and as much as it surprised her, after their talk Catra found herself understanding her more.

"But don't worry about it now. It'll work out later," Catra further assured her. From her experience, it was true. Everything worked out how it was meant to, in the end.

Catra was… absolutely right. Glimmer was able to relax her body again, easing her head against the feline as she twisted again, now facing her head on and wrapping an arm over her waist, barely any space between them. She crept her face forward for a tender kiss before shutting her eyes for a few seconds. 

“Yeah, it will,” she added, eyes flickering open intermittently as they just simply laid there, interlocked and so attached to each other’s warmth, still recovering from the cold of the rain. 

Catra was more than satisfied to stay like that for a while longer, and the warm compassion of every gentle touch made her chest flutter, even still. The rain still pounded against the window, drumming a beat in sync with her thumping heart, and the sound of it was soothing. It had been so long since she felt this level of peace and calm; she almost forgot what it felt like.

Then, something dawned on Glimmer that she could get excited about. “Oh!” she exclaimed, reaching for the phone that laid behind her now, pulling it over and resting it against Catra’s hip as she navigated the touch screen with her thumb. 

She opened up her primary social media app and jumped right into her profile, then shot a look up to Catra with an endearing smile. “Can I update our relationship status?” she asked, wanting to make sure she was okay with it before doing anything.

The feline grinned at the suggestion. It was a silly, dumb thing to care about, but she wanted the entire world to know that she was dating the loveliest, most gorgeous, and most captivating girl to ever exist.

"Sure," she answered. "Just show me what pic you chose for it before you post it."

Glimmer smiled, darting her thumb through her camera roll for the picture she got from Scorpia on the day of Sea Hawk’s party. She tapped on it to bring it to the forefront of her screen, still as radiant as she remembered it. Before she even showed it to Catra, she giggled and said so salaciously, “Fuck, you looked _so_ hot that night, babe,” before she pulled her phone up to their faces and showed it to Catra.

"Wow, damn," Catra commented, seeing it for the first time. It was a surprisingly good picture of them, and they both looked great. Adora was right; they were extremely cute together. She would have to thank Scorpia for taking the picture later.

"If I looked hot, you were scorching," she cooed playfully. "That one is perfect. Going to post now?"

“Yeah, I think so,” Glimmer decided, cropping the photo just right before tapping in a sweet caption, then sending it off for all of their mutual friends to gawk at.

**_Glimmer updated her relationship status  
_ ** _sugar, spice, and everything nice._ 💋 ✨

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> art by @mgtxs! [tumblr](https://mgtxs.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/mgtxs)
> 
> bmp: thank you so much for all the support and all the comments, and thank you for reading! <3 catch me on [tumblr](https://brightmoonprincess.tumblr.com/)
> 
> phazon: we both had SO much fun writing this together and i'm so happy so many of you loved what we poured our heart and soul into. thank you so much for your kind words!!! here's my [tumblr](https://glimmerposting.tumblr.com/) and my [twitter](https://twitter.com/phazonprince)!


End file.
